


Lost Goddess

by TheSecondQueenOfSol



Series: Lost Goddess Universe [1]
Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League (2017), Supergirl (TV 2015), Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Major Original Character(s), Mostly canon Complaint, SuperCorp, Trans Hero, Trans Male Character, there IS a plot, they go to Themyscira, trans!Lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-18 09:26:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11288409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecondQueenOfSol/pseuds/TheSecondQueenOfSol
Summary: Wonder Woman/Supergirl Crossover.After almost a hundred years in the world of men, Diana returns to Themyscira and shapes a daughter from blood and clay. Tragically, the child is killed in a great fire before her first birthday. Fifteen years after her supposed death, Diana seeks out the Oracle of Hades and discovers that her lost daughter is still alive.Wonder Woman (2017) and mostly Supergirl Seasons 1 and 2 canon compliant (except M*n-El never existed).Mild angst. Supercorp, Diana/OC, Sanvers later on.





	1. Oracle

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve used a little poetic license so it’s not canon complaint to the WW Comics.  
> I've finished this fic, so I'll be posting as I finish proofreading it.

“I am the Oracle of Hades, cursed with knowledge of the dead,” the woman spoke. Her face was obscured by a deep hood and the shadows of the cave, her clothing in rags, some foul liquid bubbling in a pot above the fire. “Speak now, one question, and I will answer with the truth.”

Diana took a deep breath to steady her nerves, watching her husband’s shadow dance in the firelight. Lance turned to her, his face creased and serious, and nodded in grim encouragement.

“Oracle, I wish to know the fate of our daughter’s soul. Did she travel safely to the underworld?”

The Oracle grew very still. She paused for a long moment. For Diana and Lance it seemed to stretch on for hours, their hearts beating hard and in unison.

“I have only knowledge of the dead,” the Oracle breathed softly. “My vision does not extend to those still living.”

Diana’s breath caught. Lance’s heart leapt into his throat.

“But she… is dead,” Lance said, desperate to be contradicted. “Since a child. She did not live to one year old.”

The Oracle drew herself in, clasping her rags around her thin frame. “I have all manner of knowledge for those passed, but I tell you again, cannot answer for those still living.”

“What does that mean,” Diana spoke softly. “I have sat beneath her tree every day for fifteen years. I buried her body beneath its roots. She is dead. Themyscira has mourned her passing.”

“Then you have mourned another, Goddess,” the Oracle chuckled, a cruel grin spreading across her face, her eyes flashing wickedly as she came to understand. With a snap of her thin fingers, the Goddess and her husband were thrown back to their own world, and the doors to the Temple were sealed.

 

***

 

“I’ve found her,” Lance called, bursting into Diana’s office, nearly knocking the doors off their hinges.

Diana’s head snapped up from her computer. Lance stood there, panting heavily, almost unable to comprehend the possibility that maybe, just maybe, this time it was true.

“I think I’ve found her.”

“Truly?” Diana asked, unwilling to allow her hopes to rise yet again without cause.

“Truly,” Lance nodded, dashing to the desk as Diana cleared it, and laying out a blueprint for her to see. “I finally… I know why we haven’t found her.”

“Why, tell me,” Diana demanded, her eyes roaming the print.

“She is not here. She was taken across a bridge between worlds.”

“She is in the divine world? Among the old world left after the fall of Olympus?”

“No, further still. She is not on our Earth. Barry was right. His theory, about the Earth and how there are not one but many. Many Earths, all the same but equally different. With different people and histories, but all Earth.”

“And you think, somehow, she was taken to another?”

“Yes. And what’s more I think I know which one.”

“How do we get there?” Diana asked, and Lance couldn’t help but fall ever deeper in love with his wife.

“There is a gateway. Not like the path to Olympus, but like a portal. Find it, and we find her.”

Lance breathed out.

“She’s there, I’m sure of it,” Lance whispered, more to himself than Diana.

 

***

 

“This is it?” Diana confirmed, staring into the swirling mass of light and energy that lit up the forest glade, trapped between a great chrome frame.

“It has to be,” Lance nodded from beside her, his heavy black cloak feeling like a burden rather than protection. Just one more layer between him and his daughter.

“And we have no idea what to expect…” Diana breathed, sword and shield in hand, barely able to steady her heartbeat.

“None,” Lance replied, his heart rate matching hers.

“Then now is as good a time as ever.”

“For our daughter. May she be happy and safe… and forgiving.”

 

***

 

“We’ve been on Earth-38 for seven years, Lance,” Diana sighed in frustration, resting her head in her hands. “Why have the gods made it so impossible to find her?”

“I know, my love. I know,” Lance murmured, massaging his wife’s stiff shoulders gently. “But you have lived nine hundred years…”

“And I am afraid another thousand will pass before I see her again.”

Diana and Lance stood together in the kitchen of their penthouse in the centre of this alternate Metropolis.

Diana looked up as a breaking news alert flashed onto the screen.

_Unmanned drone heading toward Metropolis. No Supers in sight._

A reporter began urgently delivering the report, his tone panicked. “So far, neither Superman or Supergirl have been seen in the vicinity. Speculation is that they’re off world.”

Another three minutes of panicked report passed, and it dawned on Lance the solution stood beside him.

“It sounds like Earth-38 needs Wonder Woman,” he smiled, though sadness tinged his eyes.

“I said I’d never interfere with the heroes and the history of this Earth,” Diana said, turning to face him, her original declaration becoming increasingly unimportant the closer the drone drew toward Metropolis.

“You’re just… picking up the slack from absent heroes,” Lance smiled.

“A drone is simple enough,” Diana nodded, and Lance felt their hearts beat a little faster. She’d missed this, and truthfully so had he. “I’ll call for you if I need a hand.”

Diana kissed him gently.

“Have fun,” Lance smiled.

“I will,” she returned and in seconds she had changed into her armour and was pushing their balcony door open, taking off from their balcony.

Lance leant down and began to pack the dishwasher, keeping one ear open to the news anchor.

Unknown to them, across the country in National City, their daughter sat alone at her desk, still analysing sales data from the last quarter.

Not three minutes later, the news anchor suddenly began stuttering excitedly. Lance continued to wash the dishes as he watched in amusement.

“Oh my god, are you seeing this, Bob? That’s… I don’t think that’s a super. Can we confirm… okay, folks we can confirm that this is not Supergirl or Superman. I think that’s a new hero. I don’t recognise the outfit, do you Bob? We have a semi-clear photo here, folks. It’s definitely a person. It looks… it looks like a woman.”

The news panel disintegrated into a babbling mess of excited speculation, and Lance realised just how much he missed his wife’s heroism and how she inspired every person who saw her.

“We have a clearer picture… that’s definitely a new hero. Wait. Wait I think I can see Supergirl… they’re meeting! They’re meeting!”

Lance watched as the screen and the blurry feed of Diana and Supergirl hovering in the air above the city, Diana still holding the disabled drone by its tailfin. They looked to be talking. About what he couldn’t tell, and neither could the news anchors, who began wildly speculating about the nature of the conversation. Lance discounted almost all of their suggestions immediately.

He put the kettle on to boil. Diana had always loved a hot cup of tea after saving the world.

 

***

 

“Mash potato, Kara?” Diana asked.

“Absolutely,” Kara grinned as she passed Lance the wine.

The three of them sat together in the Prince Penthouse dining room, sharing another dinner together to unwind from the week.

“So Kara,” Lance began once they had filled their plates. “You never did tell us if there was someone else you wanted to bring to these little dinner parties.”

“Oh, well, there isn’t. Not at the moment, anyway,” Kara blushed.

“Ah, but I know that look,” Diana smiled. “There is someone you have your eye on.”

“No, I mean, not really. I mean, you know, I’m almost certain it’s just me,” Kara stammered.

Lance just grinned at her, recognising far too much of himself in that blush. “So did I, Kara. But one night, after far too much wine, I took the plunge, and so should you.”

“No way,” Kara suddenly went quiet. “But you two are like… goals.”

“To this day it absolutely remains the best drunken poor choice I’ve ever made.”

“And I’m glad Epione kept filling your chalice. We might have kept that dance up for another thousand years.”

“So how did you two meet?” Kara asked, and by Rao she wanted to know. Diana and Lance had exactly the kind of married life she completely aspired to. Even after all this time, and all the great loves and epic romances they had in between, they still adored each other.

“I was born an Amazon, and raised an Amazon,” Lance told her, thinking back many thousands of years. “And I fell madly in love with none other than the Princess herself. And a Goddess too, mind you. And one night, after too many cups of fine wine, I kissed her, and to my utter terror and complete surprise she kissed me back. Thank goodness because if she hadn’t I might never have been seen again.”

“You make it sound like I would have tossed you over the island’s cliffs,” Diana smiled.

“You probably would have,” Lance grinned back. “You certainly could have.”

Kara sat watching.

“But Themyscira is a paradise of women,” Lance continued. “And I did not belong. So I left, voluntarily of course. But in leaving, I sacrificed my immortality.”

“But that would have been, what, a thousand years ago?” Kara asked, puzzled.

“About eight hundred,” Lance nodded. “Lucky for me the gods enjoyed my antics. I had no skills but the art of war. So I became a warrior of men. And so impressed and entertained was the god Ares that he granted me another ten thousand years upon the earth.”

“And when I left Themyscira, I expected my lost love to be long dead. No one was more surprised than I to find him smuggling innocents out of Germany during the second world war.”

Lance couldn’t help but grin a little wider. “But there I was.”

“There you were. And finally, the stars aligned, and there were no more rules or wars or a hidden paradise between us.”

“And together we have been ever since.”

“Whoa,” Kara breathed out. “You should write a memoir or something. Or maybe a YA novel because I doubt anyone would believe it’s non-fiction.”

“I believe Phillipus wrote an epic poem and she sings it every solstice.”

“Have you ever thought about having children?” Kara asked, and when the silence stretched on she worried she’d hit a sensitive chord.

Lance felt their joint heartbeat slow as Diana absorbed the question.

“We did,” Diana finally answered. “We had a daughter. But she died when she was not one years old, or so we believed.”

“So she’s… not dead?” Kara asked cautiously, suddenly aware she was treading on broken memories.

“We searched for the Oracle of Hades to ask if our daughter had received passage to the Underworld, only to find that she had not died at all, that she was still alive somewhere, somehow. It is why we came to this alternate universe. To find our daughter. And meet her. And love her, maybe.”

And then something dawned on her. “Kara, do you have access on this Earth to a Fortress of Solitude?”

“Yeah, I mean it’s Kal’s place really. But we share it.”

Lance lowered his fork gently, realising what Diana had.

“And does this Fortress of Solitude have Kryptonian broad spectrum scanning technology?”

 

***

 

_“Initiating planet wide probe. One hundred forty seconds remaining.”_

Diana took a deep breath to steady her shaking hand.

“Are you cold?” Kara asked, slightly perplexed.

“I do not get cold.”

“Are you… okay?”

“I am only nervous.”

_“Ninety seconds remaining.”_

“What will you do if you find her?”

“I do not know,” Diana admitted.

“I didn’t dare to dream,” Lance breathed. “Too many times we ran down paths that lead to disappointment. I cannot be disappointed. Not again.”

_“Fifty seconds remaining.”_

“Maybe the wait is over,” Kara offered, unsure how to comfort her new friends.

Diana slipped her hand onto Lance’s shoulder, and he lay his own on top, squeezing gently.

_“Ten seconds remaining.”_

Lance’s breath caught, and Diana closed her eyes in earnest hope.

_“Scan complete. Match found.”_

Diana and Lance leapt to the console as a green coordinate pinged on the map.

“Is that it? Is that all you can give us?” Lance demanded.

_“Would you like to display the target data?”_

“Yes!” Lance and Diana exclaimed in unison.

Lines of Kryptonian filed quickly up the screen, slowly decoding themselves into English. Her genetic data, her age and physical attributes, and slowly it revealed the person she had become.

Kara peaked over Diana’s shoulder, and her jaw dropped. “But… what?”

Diana and Lance couldn’t tear their eyes from the screen.

This was her.

This was their daughter.

“But… no. That’s not possible,” Kara said, stepping back, eyes wide. “She can’t be. I mean. She’s…”

Diana turned to face her, realisation dawning. “Do you know her?”

And finally, the name flashed up on the screen.

“Lena Luthor, are you kidding me? She… she’s my best friend.”

 

***

 

Supergirl shot from the sky with a thunder clap and landed on one knee, the dust from the rooftop billowing up around her red boots. Behind her, Diana glided to the ground, letting Lance slip out of her grip and land on his own feet.

“Over there,” Kara pointed across the city to the building lit with an enormous ‘L Corp’.

“She takes after her father, I see,” Diana grinned fondly, a million thoughts marching through her brain. In the back of her mind, one persistent and distressing thought refused to quiet.

Raised a Luthor. Raised a sister to Lex Luthor himself. Of all the people in all the worlds.

“What is she like?” Lance asked, unable to tear his eyes from his daughter’s building. She was in there. She was alive and…

“She is intelligent and dedicated and hardworking,” Kara smiled. “And successful. A born leader.”

“But is she kind?” Diana asked. “Is she compassionate and loyal and honest?... Is she a good person?”

She wasn’t sure she wanted the answer, and yet, she had asked.

Kara took a deep breath. “Yes. She is all of those things and more again. She’s… I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”

“How are we going to tell her? How will we… approach this?” Lance asked almost absentmindedly.

“The only reasonable way, I suppose. Introduce ourselves as her birth parents,” Diana confirmed. “Everything else comes after that.”

“She was raised a Luthor, Diana. A Luthor does not easily trust.”

“Neither do Amazons. We can only try.”

 

***

 

“Tell her it’s urgent,” Lance insisted. “It is absolutely an emergency. I cannot meet later than today.”

“I’m sorry, Mr Prince. There is no available time today. It is past nine o’clock and Ms Luthor has left the office. Next Wednesday is the earliest time.”

“It must be today. Tell her… tell her it is the President of the American National Technical Institute for Oncological Pathology Enquiry.”

“I beg your pardon, Mr Prince, you’re the President of A.N.T.I.O.P.E.?” Jess asked, suddenly interested. Lena had mentioned them as a possible avenue for private donation.

“Yes, and this meeting is urgent.”

“Hold, please sir.”

The line went quiet and a jazz number began to play. Not eight seconds later, the phone reconnected.

“Mr Prince?”

“Yes.”

“The only time she will be available today is in ten minutes in her office.”

“I’ll be there. Thank you.”

Lance hung up and turned to Diana and Kara. For a moment he couldn’t speak. He was going to meet his daughter. In ten minutes, after twenty four years, he was going to meet his daughter.

“I’ll let you go,” Kara smiled. “If you need anything, you have my number.”

“Thank you, Kara. For everything,” Diana smiled, hugging her firmly. “You’ll hear from us soon.”

“Thank you for everything,” Lance said, hugging her too.


	2. The Makings of a Goddess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena meets her parents...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pronunciation: Aella = eye-el-ah

“Ms Luthor will see you now.”

Lance shivered at the sound of that name. A Luthor. Of all things, she was raised a Luthor.

“Thank you,” Diana said, smiling faintly but warmly, her heart thudding hard against her ribcage.

The secretary, Jess she said her name was, knocked twice and cracked the double glass doors open, pocking her head inside.

“Ms Luthor, Mr and Mrs Prince, from A.N.T.I.O.P.E. here to see you.”

“Thank you, Jess,” a voice said from within. “I’ll see them now.”

The secretary turned back to them, pushing the door open. “Go through,” she smiled, and Diana and Lance couldn’t help but grin back, almost giddy.

They stepped through, neither of them daring to take a breath, still half terrified this was a dream.

Lena stood up from her desk and offered a hand to both of them. Unsure what else they could do, they shook it.

“Lena Luthor, I’m very pleased to meet you. Please, take a seat,” Lena said, gesturing to the pair that stood on the other side of her desk. “What can I help you with?”

Suddenly Lance could form a coherent sentence, his mind both empty and full of panic. Luckily, Diana’s was not.

“Ms Luthor…”

“Please, Lena, if I may call you Diana?”

“Of course,” Diana smiled. “Lena… we must admit… there is no easy way to say this… I understand you were adopted?”

Lena’s entire manner stiffened. The smile on her face flickered and was instantly replaced with a false one.

“I did not mean to offend. It is only…” Diana glanced at Lance, who couldn’t quiet tear his eyes away from his daughter.

“It is only,” Lance continued. “We believe that… we are your birth parents.”

Lena’s eyes darted between the two of them. Shock, panic, scepticism, denial.

“My birth mother and father are both dead,” Lena said, trying hard to sound firm but her voice still shaking slightly.

“I do not know what you have been told,” Diana began. “But we believed our daughter to be dead, until we had reason to believe she was not. We have been searching for her ever since. And we believe you are her.”

Lena remained quiet, watching their earnest expressions. Her parents were dead, she had accepted that. But… could this be? It wouldn’t be the first lie the Luthors had told her. It wouldn’t be the first cruel game Lillian had played with her. But her DNA. She had opened Lionel Luthor’s vault. She had the blood of a Luthor. They could not all three of them be her parents. She had… what cruel game were these two playing?

“What makes you think I am your lost daughter?” Lena asked, her disillusionment and scepticism plain to see.

“We had been searching through various databases of DNA records,” Lance offered, his gaze not leaving his daughter. It wasn’t technically a lie. They had searched a database. He hated lying. Diana, of course, could not lie. Therefore, for the safety of human kind, they were left with avoiding confirmation.

Diana reached across the gap and slipped her hand into Lance’s. Lena watched their interaction, eyes flickering between their faces and joined hands.

“And where did you gain access to my genetic sample?” Lena probed.

“It’s a matter of private record, which we have access to through our connections.”

“I’ve never had cancer.”

“Which does not factor into this circumstance.”

“You really expect me to believe you just stumbled across our genetic similarity while researching cancer?” Lena arched her eyebrows, smiling incredulously. “Look, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’ll need you to either present better evidence than that, or leave.”

“Wait,” Diana said, looking between her husband and her daughter. “I will not play games. Not with our daughter. I won’t lie to you. We have been searching for nine years to find you, from the first day we heard might not have died. And yes, that meant searching through government databases, none of which you are on. We found you through other means, but we cannot tell you how until we know, truly, that you are as good and honest as you seem.”

There was a pause as Lena continued to measured them both.

This was ridiculous. Outlandish even. But maybe…

“I need a sample of your DNA. I need something. Some proof.”

Lance glanced at Diana, who looked back. They should have prepared for this. They couldn’t give Diana’s. It would be far too dangerous. The blood of a god, even in the hands of another. But Lance was immortal, and the blood of eternal youth wasn’t much safer.

Lena took their silence as confirmation.

“Well, if you won’t, then I have no choice but to ask you to leave,” Lena said, standing.

“Wait, Aella…”

“Aella? Is that… No. My name is Lena. Lena Luthor. And I need you to leave.”

Diana could hardly breath. After all this time… _I need you to leave._

“Take my blood,” Lance said quietly, and then again more firmly. “Take a sample of my blood.”

“That is a dangerous gamble, my husband,” Diana cautioned.

“If it is the only way our daughter will be convinced, I will take the risk.”

“Very well. But… Lena… please, do not share this sample with anyone. We have no choice but to trust you. Please, do not show this sample to anyone else, at least until you have made your own analysis.”

“Why?”

“You will see,” Diana replied, but she did not elaborate. A deep sense of unease settled into the pit of Lena’s stomach.

 

***

 

“Please, sit,” Lena said simply, gesturing to the couch she had occupied so many times with Kara. She remained standing and paced back and forth just once, trying to find her words, and then stopped by her desk, looking back at her… her parents?

“I tested your blood.”

Lance stiffened. He didn’t like the way her tone offered no particular position on the matter. Neutrality was dangerous. Beside him, Diana took his hand to steady its shaking.

 “Explain,” she instructed, desperate for an answer as to why her supposed father’s cells hadn’t died yet, despite being kept at room temperature. Why they had multiplied on their own with no external influences. How they had remained resistant to destruction.

Why they were a genetic match.

Why they had abandoned her.

Diana took one look at Lance’s pale face, and turned back to her daughter and began to explain.

How Lena… Aella, was formed from clay mixed with the blood of her father, and breath of a Goddess, her mother Diana. How she was raised on the isle of Amazons, Themyscira. That she had died, or so they thought, in a great fire that had consumed their home. That the ashes of her body were buried beneath the Great Tree of Antiope, and that they had mourned for some fifteen years, a blink in the eye of an immortal.

And how they had searched and found the Oracle of Hades, and asked if she had found safe passage to the Field of Heroes, and that the oracle had smirked and told them that she had not, for she had never died. And how for years they had searched without success in their own world, until finally they had capture the trickster Circe and she admitted to kidnapping their daughter and sending her to an unfamiliar world. How a friend had proven the theory of the multiverse and discovered an artificial gateway between worlds near Themyscira.

And how here they’d come. Seven years ago, and searched and searched. And how Diana had been forced to reveal herself to save Metropolis from a rogue drone, and she had met Supergirl. And with Supergirl’s Kryptonian technology, had tracked a genetic match.

When Diana finished the tale, the room fell silent as she and Lance waited expectantly.

“I’m sorry, let me get this right,” Lena shook her head incredulously. “Not only are you not from this planet, you are the princess of a secret island, and you’re also the woman who saved Metropolis? The…what were they calling you? The Wonder Woman?”

“I am Diana, Princess of Themyscira, daughter of Hippolyta,” Diana nodded, “and yes, I am known as Wonder Woman.”

“And you know Supergirl?”

“Yes.”

“Right,” Lena scoffed, arching her eyebrows. She could test that theory well enough.

“This all sounds far too… implausible. Not to mention extremely unhinged.”

“Is it? This city just survived an alien invasion. Martians live among you. Speedsters run themselves between the past and the future. Aliens fall from the sky and become gods among men, and doorways are built to bridge the space between planets. Is it so impossible that you are a princess?”

“Not impossible. Rather very improbable.”

“Do you need more proof than our genetic identity?”

“What can we do?” Lance asked, almost begging. “We will do anything.”

Lena took a long pause to breath and think.

“First, I need proof that you are the woman who saved Metropolis. The Wonder Woman.”

“I am not a performing monkey…” Diana said, firm but thoughtful. “However, this will be an exception.”

Without another word, Diana stood and kicked gently off the office floor, hovering a foot above the carpet with her arms spread for balance.

Lena’s breath caught and she stumbled across her words gracelessly, her face falling away and revealing unmasked shock.

“You… you’re really…”

“Yes.”

“Oh my god…” Lena turned to her desk, taking a deep breath and leaning heavily against it. “Oh my god.”

“Please, do not be alarmed,” Diana soothed, landing gently.

Lena spun back to them. This pair of gods, who could… her par… no. It was almost _impossible_.

Almost.

“Don’t be alarmed?” Lena asked, half incredulous and half demanding, her voice cracking slightly. “Don’t be alarmed? I had just come to terms with the fact that I share blood with a family of psychopathic criminals, and now a goddess walks into my office and insists I’m a princess from some invisible island on some earth that is just like this one but also completely different and that I have the DNA of a god and a father who is two thousand years old… and I’m supposed to ‘not be alarmed’?”

 “That is not what I meant. Be alarmed, but do not be unreasonable.”

“Don’t you dare try to tell me what to feel. You come in here… twenty years… you come… I need a minute.”

Lena turned and pushed open her balcony door, taking a deep breath of the night air and leaning against the concrete ledge, looking out over National City.

He was her father. She had done every test. Reconstructed every strand of the DNA. They were unequivocally related, as sure as the moon shone in the night sky. Whether that confirmed the entire story was unknowable.

Adaptive DNA, Diana had called it. It fooled the DNA identification system because she had believed she was a Luthor. She had the makeup of a god, the foundation on which all humans were built, simultaneously all of and none of the genetic markers of an ordinary human. It would take an extremely complex computer to distinguish it from that of any other human.

Her first thought was that this could be the key to curing genetic disease.

Lena turned back, looking through the glass to the interior where her parents sat. Her parents. Her parents who were kind and gentle and who had been searching for her for the last nine years. Her parents, who were a goddess and an immortal.

Parents that seemed far too good to be true.

They sat close, murmuring to each other, something she couldn’t hear, hands clutched between them.

Lena pushed the door open gently and stepped back inside. Diana and Lance looked up as she came toward them. Lance’s eyes were a mix of panic and hope, while Diana maintained a much better mask.

“Dinner?”

“I’m sorry?” Lance blinked.

“Would you like to have dinner? Tomorrow night, maybe?”

“Absolutely,” Diana said, a radiant smile spreading across her face.

“I mean, as long as you don’t need to return to Metropolis for work?” Lena asked, cautious of disappointment.

“No, not at all,” Lance smiled. “I left Damian in charge and he’s been doing just fine.”

When he smiled, it always reached his eyes. Always. He was so expressive. They both were. Unlike… some other people…

“Great,” Lena nodded. “I’ll have Jess book us a table and send you the details.”

“Fantastic,” Lance breathed out an unsubtle sigh of relief.

“Let us known when we’re too much,” Diana said, and Lena’s heartbeat faltered. “We can give you space at any time. We’re just… we’ve missed you. And we… we’d love to get to know you.”

Lena blinked several times. Diana had just given her the power. The power to say stay or go. Lena didn’t know what to do with it. She’d never had someone willingly hand their power to her… except perhaps Kara.

 

***

 

“Will you come with me?”

“To dinner with your parents?”

“Yes. It was a sort of spur of the moment decision and I…”

“Lena, I’d absolutely love to come. As long as it won’t be awkward or anything with me there.”

“I’m more worried it’ll be awkward if you’re not.”

 

***

 

“Table for Lena Luthor?” Diana asked the waitress.

“This way please, ma’am,” she smiled brightly, guiding them into the restaurant. It was a very nice, decently lit and subtly expensive establishment, and as they drew nearer to a table at the centre of the room, Diana spotted not one but two heads already seated. And she was even more surprised to see who the second belonged to.

“Lena,” Lance smiled as they approached the table. Lena stood awkwardly for a moment before presenting a hand. Lance shook it warmly.

“And Kara Danvers,” Diana said, stepping forward to give her a hug. “What an unexpected pleasure.”

“Diana! Lovely to see you again. And Lance, you too.”

“You know each other?” Lena asked, her shock evident.

“Yes, we’ve met several times before. Here and there,” Diana offered vaguely, before pausing in front of Lena, unsure how to greet her. Lena put out her hand, feeling the weight of inexperience, not for the first time.

Diana looked down at the offered hand, and after a moment hesitation shook it gently with a slight smile that did not reach her eyes.

They all sat, Lena still looking a little perplexed at Kara’s warn greetings of her parents.

Lena had ordered wine for the table, and Diana was very pleased to note she had exceptional taste. After a moment settling, Lance and Diana couldn’t help but acknowledge their daughter had brought another person to their first family dinner.

“So, are you two…?” Diana asked, arching her eyebrows and looking between Lena and Kara.

“No. No. Just friends,” Lena said, blushing deeply. She hoped her mother wasn’t telepathic too.

Beside her, Kara turned an inhuman shade of red.

It didn’t take the powers of the Goddess of Love to distinguish the relationship the two shared. Diana knew instantly that Lena was absolutely aware that Kara was Supergirl, and Kara was none the wiser. Poor girl. Not to mention the undeniable attraction and affection the two expressed. A spark of pride ignited in her heart.

“A pity,” Diana smiled. “Kara Danvers would be a worthy companion to any Queen of Themyscira.”

“I’m not a Queen.”

“No, you are a Princess. But time passes, even for those who do not age.”

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Lena began. “How old are you, exactly?”

“Nine hundred and twenty three,” Diana said matter-of-factly.

Kara gracelessly choked on her wine. “Nine hundred and… praise Rao…”

“Perhaps we should steer toward some lighter conversation?” Lance offered. “All this talk of Queens and aging puts one off their meal. So, Lena, tell us about yourself? Everything. I mean, everything you’d be comfortable sharing. Anything really.”

“Anything,” Lena repeated, steering her mind away from twenty years of childhood trauma. “I don’t think there’s much to tell.”

“That cannot possibly be true,” Diana insisted softly. “You are only twenty-five and the CEO of a major international corporation. That cannot have come from nothing.”

“No. It came from the family of criminals who adopted me. A company built on a foundation of greed and injustice.”

“Which you have transformed into a force for good,” Diana reminded her. “I did my reading. There is nothing of Lex left in L-Corp.”

“Lena,” Lance spoke. “I will not dance around the matter of your childhood and adoption. You were taken in by a family of criminals. Raised by Luthors, of all people. And if I could change one thing in this world, if I could convince the Fates to re-write your story, I would have destroyed them before your life began.”

“You cannot know what…” Lena trailed off before she could finish.

“I see it in your eyes. It is not hard to miss for those who are looking. We… there are Luthors on our Earth, also. And if they share anything of mind or heart, then I fear what you have lived through. And I am so, so sorry that I cannot make it right.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t. But that doesn’t mean we cannot try to make it so.”

“There is nothing you can do.”

“And that,” Diana interjected, “is our greatest regret. We cannot fix the past, though we would in a moment. We can only do our best to make a better future.”

The table fell silent. Kara fiddled awkwardly with her napkin before a thought suddenly dawned on her.

“We don’t have fates on this earth,” she piped up.

The table turned to look at her as her cheeks began to darken.

“That you know of, Kara,” Lance said, face breaking into a playful smile.

But the tension was broken, and the table returned to lighter conversation.

They began with their work…

“You know the American National Technical Institute for Oncological Pathology Enquiry. A.N.T.I.O.P.E. for short. We started it as a front to access the CDC’s medical database of genetic samples, but my dear husband is far too compassionate to keep even a skeleton institute from work for long.”

“I simply realised that the services we pretended to provide were in real demand, as on our earth. It was only a little extra work to open the institute and fund researchers.”

“Why… Antiope? It seems very specific.”

“After my Aunt, the General Antiope. A truly great warrior.”

Eventually it turned to politics…

“No, I am definitely a democrat,” Lena smiled.

“Oh thank goodness,” Lance exhaled in relief. “I thought that was going to be the end of it.”

And later history…

“Is Lance your Greek name then?” Lena asked, fascinated.

“No. I had many names. But first among them was Leandros. The Lion Man.”

“I’m sorry, Leandros, the lover of Hero? Didn’t he drown in a storm trying to reach her?”

“Those dusty old fools always translate it so literally. Hero, my love, drowned in a storm trying to swim across the sea to me. I drowned in my own sorrows only, but never literally. I am almost certain I was extremely specific about it being my sorrow when I penned that myth. I’ve half a mind to release my own translated version in this world as well.”

“Lance gets extremely offended when ‘old windbags’ translate his tales wrong.”

“It is only that I am sensitive to the truth, and more often than not they aren’t.”

And then to their most prominent qualities…

“Let’s just say I did not marry Lance for his sense humour,” Diana said conspiratorially, arching her eyebrows at her husband.

“The daring!” Lance exclaimed in mock offense, though he couldn’t keep from smiling for long.

 

***

 

Once they had settled the bill (Lance and Diana absolutely insisted on paying), they stepped out onto the footpath.

“It seems too soon for the night to be over,” Lena mused.

Kara suddenly clapped her hands enthusiastically.

“I know the perfect place to go,” she insisted. “It’s just a few blocks away.”

And with that, they began to meander over in the warm summer heat.

Lance and Kara accidentally trotted on a way ahead, buoyed by an enthusiastic conversation on the merits of radiation therapy in cancer treatment. It turned out Kara had quite an ear for science. Ten paces behind, Diana and Lena walked together, deep in their own conversation.

“So,” Diana began, “how long have you known Kara is Supergirl?”

Lena only smiled slightly and shook her head with affection.

“Since the week we met. For someone so intelligent, she cannot lie to save herself.”

“It is not such a bad thing.”

“No, it definitely isn’t.”

 

***

 

As they stepped inside, the atmosphere enveloped them, and Lena realised what Kara had done. She had taken them to the alien bar she frequented, and on Karaoke night, of all things.

“I feel far too old to be in a place like this,” Lance sighed wistfully.

“Please, you don’t look a day over forty,” Kara said.

“I am almost two thousand years old, but I’ll take the complement,” Lance smiled, and Kara’s jaw hit the dust for the hundredth time that evening.

“Two thousand and… dear Rao,” she murmured.

“Shall I get us drinks?” Diana offered.

“This isn’t like an ordinary bar,” Kara began.

“I know, sweetheart. It is quite evident from the exceptional number of aliens currently present. We have many places like this back on our Earth. I’m sure I can find my way around,” she said, leaving them to find a table as she walked toward the bar. As always, a number of eyes followed her path.

Kara shrugged and led Lena and Lance to a booth near the back.

“So Lena, do you sing?” Lance asked.

“No, absolutely not,” Lena shook her head. “Kara, on the other hand…”

“Oh, no not tonight,” Kara interrupted. “Tonight I’ll keep it classy.”

“Why on Earth would we want to do that?” Lance asked, entirely serious. And as Diana returned with drinks and the Dally Parton impersonator who had hold of the mic began to fade out, Lance leapt up and dragged Kara toward the stage, seizing the microphone before anyone else could. He whispered something to the DJ, and the opening notes of Nathan Trent’s ‘Running On Air’ began to play. Kara recognised it immediately. Eurovision 2017. Who could forget. Well, everyone, but it was still a great song.

It wasn’t a duet, but they made it work.

A feeling of intense embarrassment overwhelmed Lena, and she realised for the first time in her life it was the kind of embarrassment she didn’t so much mind. The kind of shame that came from an innocuous karaoke battle, and not an attempted genocide.

Diana placed the drinks on the table, almost smirking. “It is a dangerous game, taking Lance anywhere with crowds and microphones. He’ll either start a riot or a revolution.”

And of course, because they were both perfection personified, Lance and Kara could both sing like angels.


	3. Blood and Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Family Antics

Lena leant against the Prince’s penthouse balcony, watching a helicopter buzz overhead and listening to the sirens wailing in the distance. The sound of Metropolis. Inside, Diana and Lance were clearing away the last of the dishes.

Kara’s head peaked through the glass door, and Lena turned to find her smiling sheepishly.

“Something wrong?” Lena asked.

“You wouldn’t hate me if I said I have to go, would you?”

“I couldn’t hate you if I wanted to,” Lena laughed. “Go if you need to. I think I’ll stay a little longer.”

“Thank you thank you thank you,” Kara smiled, bouncing over and wrapping her in a hug.

Through the glass, Lena saw Diana raising her eyebrows at her, a smile playing across her lips. Lena felt herself blush deeply and hoped no one saw her pale cheeks darken.

“I’ll see you soon, okay,” Kara said, backing out the door. “Call me.”

And with that the door closed behind her, and Lena watched her hug Lance and Diana tightly before disappearing out the front door.

Lena turned back to the skyline, her head buzzing with thoughts of dinner and business and Kara and… wait, what? Yes, thoughts of Kara. Way too many thoughts of Kara.

Lena heard the door click open behind her.

“Mind if I join you?” Lance asked.

“No, by all means,” Lena smiled back to him, and he stepped out onto the balcony.

“It’s a beautiful city. I don’t suppose you miss it?” Lance queried.

“Sometimes. Not often, but on nights like this.”

For a long moment they stood their together, both leaning on the railing, watching the city slow as the night drew on and the traffic buzzed its way along the well-lit streets.

“I… can I ask you a few questions?” Lena asked tentatively, turning toward the city and avoiding eye contact.

“Of course. Anything,” Lance nodded, thoughtful but always kind.

“What was my name?”

“We called you Aella.”

“And… what does it mean?”

“Whirlwind. Because at three months you learnt to walk, and at four months you could already string a reasonable sentence together, and at seven months you learnt how to swing a sword. I’ve never seen a child grow as fast as you did.”

Lena paused, taking it in before she spoke again.

“Do I have any siblings?”

“No. I’m sorry. You were our only child,” Lance answered. “You have aunts though. About fifteen hundred of them. And a grandmother and a grandfather.”

“Fifteen hundred?” Lena raised an eyebrow.

“Well, they’re not all your blood, by they loved you as their own.”

“And my grandparents?”

“The Queen Hippolyta of Themyscira and Zeus, King of the Gods.”

Lena was silent for a long moment, before she choked out, her voice an octave higher, “Zeus?”

 

***

 

“Come on man. Crack it. That caped chick will be here an minute.”

“I’m close… the code is self-replicating it’ll just be a minute… nearly… there…”

“If you can’t open it I’m just gonna blow the thing open with some TNT.”

“No, that’ll probably hurt the cash. Just give me another minute.”

“Come on.”

“Go keep watch.”

The safe breaker’s head snapped up at the sound of thunder boomed suddenly in the distance.

Except the skies were blue. Another crack of thunder sounded.

Shit.

Without warning the glass ceiling smashed inward, raining down inside the bank. Gun fire sprayed from below as the masked robbers shot wildly toward the caped figure hanging in the air.

While there attention was on Supergirl, the banks front doors were thrown open, framing the tall silhouette of another woman. With swift efficiency, she immobilised three guards with a single kick, blocking bullets as she charged into the room.

“Shield the hostages,” she called to Supergirl, who did just that, sweeping down to block the bullets that whizzed to close to the innocent.

The woman knocked two men down with their own guns and proceeded to snap both the semi-automatics in half with one hand.

“Shit, abort. Abort. There’s two of them.”

“Two?”

“Shit. Shit. Shit. It’s the wonder chick. Get up. The back. Go out the back. Forget that,” the op leader said, turning to run for the back door. He didn’t get three paces before a golden rope wrapped itself around his ankle and pulled him off his feet.

“Going somewhere?” the woman asked, deadpan, as she watched him struggle, his safe breaker unconscious under her foot.

Before he could answer, the bank was swarming with policeman holding handcuffs, dragging off his hired henchmen, and he was being heaved up and clapped in handcuffs of his own.

 

***

 

“That was fun,” Supergirl smiled, bouncing up to Wonder Woman as they watch two dozen hired guns being carted into the back of police vans.

“I would not say fun. Only necessary.”

Supergirl’s sunny smiled faltered, and Wonder Woman laid a hand on her shoulder. “But it was nice to be back.”

That righted Supergirl’s grin immediately.

Wonder Woman felt her heart beat speed up suddenly. But it wasn’t hers. She was calm.

_Lance._

“I need to go. Are you okay if I do?” she asked, already backing toward open ground.

“Yeah, it’s okay,” Supergirl said, suddenly concerned. “Go.”

Wonder Woman took off with a thunderclap leaving cameras flashing in her wake.

 

***

 

Lance was on the phone when Diana landed on the balcony of their hotel room. His tone was urgent and his heart was beating wildly, though his words were muffled through the glass.

“Is your office empty? Yes… okay, we’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Lance turned to face her, worry in his eyes.

“It was Lena. She said it was urgent.”

Without another word, they both charged out onto the balcony and Diana lifted Lance off the ground, flying them toward L-Corp.

Minutes later they landed on Lena’s balcony. She was alone inside, and when she heard the thunder clap that accompanied Wonder Woman’s drop from the sky, looked up to see her parents sweeping in through the door.

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” she began, nervousness twisting at her stomach. She failed them. It hadn’t even been a week and she’d already failed them. What if they hated her now. What if this was the end already.

“Someone has stolen the sample of Lance’s blood. I just… I didn’t know. It was locked away. Completely sealed, classified and safe. No one had access except me.”

Lance and Diana glanced at each other while they absorbed the information.

“I’m so sorry,” Lena apologised. “You trusted me and…”

“Lena,” Lance cut in. “This is not your fault. Do you understand? I chose to give you my blood, knowing full well what that entailed.”

“I should have taken better care,” Lena insisted.

“No. It was my risk to take, and I took it. No one is dead. Nothing bad has happened yet. We’ll get it back, and everything will be fine.”

Lena’s face still betrayed her disappointment.

“Lena,” Diana stepped forward. “It is not your fault. Someone else chose to steal it. That was their decision, not yours.”

“But I still…”

“No,” Diana interrupted. “Listen to me. You are not at fault.”

Lena breathed out, nodding half-heartedly.

“Now,” Lance said, stepping up beside his wife. “Do we have any idea as to who might have stolen it?”

 

***

 

“Miss Luthor, Kara Danvers here to see you,” Jess said, her head pocking around the door.

“Let her through,” Lena said, her face breaking into an involuntary smile. She glanced at the clock. God, it was almost twelve in the morning.

“Lena,” Kara smiled sunnily, walking over and hugging her tightly before dropping a paper bag on the desk. “I brought donuts.”

“You know me too well,” Lena snorted, picking the bag up and peaking in to find two glazed donuts. When she looked up to offer one to Kara, she found her already seated on the couch.

“Make yourself at home.”

“Sorry, I just…”

“No,” Lena interrupted. “I really meant it. What’s mine is yours.”

Lena emphasised the point by handing her the strawberry glazed donut. Kara’s favourite.

“Thank you,” Kara said, smiling up at her.

“So, what’s bothering you?” Lena asked.

“Okay… yeah,” Kara’s brow creased as she ordered her thoughts. “I… I know who stole Lance’s DNA.”

Lena stopped mid bite. She didn’t much like Kara’s tone.

“I just,” Kara continued. “I don’t know if I can tell you.”

“You don’t know if you can tell me?” Lena asked incredulously.

“I’m between a rock and a hard place and I want to tell you I just…”

“Okay, how about, you don’t tell me, and I just, guess?” Lena offered, and Kara got the idea.

“Okay, I mean I wouldn’t be telling you, really. You’d just be, investigating?”

“Sure, we’ll go with that,” Lena smiled, leaning back against her desk. “How about we start with who told you?”

“Supergirl,” Kara said with as much innocence as she could muster.

Lena had to take a moment to re-evaluate. Were they really going to play this game again? For how much longer? Kara didn’t really think she was this dense? Maybe Kara was trying to protect her ‘Supergirl’ identity, and that’s why she couldn’t tell her how she knew who had stolen Lance’s blood? Then and there, Lena made a decision.

Or perhaps, just maybe, something of the Goddess of Truth had rubbed off on her.

“Kara, are we really going to keep doing this?”

“Doing what? You suggested it,” Kara said, slightly defensive and clearly confused.

“Kara, I know you’re Supergirl,” Lena said, staring straight at her.

“What? I’m not… I mean, that’s impossible, I’m, you know, from this planet. I’m not… I couldn’t possibly be…”

“Kara,” Lena smiled, arching her eyebrows. “You flew here on the bus? Supergirl is always your source? You took a burning hot tray out of the oven with no oven mitts on, not to mention your disguise is a pair of glasses.”

“It’s at the DEO,” Kara blurted out.

“The secret anti-alien organisation your sister works for?”

“How did you…? Right, you know… everything.”

“Basically, yes,” Lena laughed. “So, how are we going to get it back?”

“About that…”

 

***

 

Alex’s eyes shot open at the sound of her phone buzzing across the side table. Beside her, Maggie stirred, and Alex whispered for her to keep sleeping as she reach across to answer the phone.

“Danvers.”

“Alex,” J’onn’s voice sounded grave. “There’s been a break it. I need you to come in and start an investigation immediately.”

“What was stolen?”

“Sample 24-46-LL-08.”

“I’m on my way.”

Alex hung up and slid out from underneath Maggie’s arm.

“What is it?” Maggie murmured.

“Just J’onn. If I’m not home when you wake, I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” Maggie smiled, eyes still closed. “A kiss before you go?”

“Of course.”

 

***

 

“The DEO?” Lance asked. “What do they want with my blood?”

“They collect things they think might be important or useful,” Lena shook her head. “And apparently that includes hacking into my classified files and taking whatever they deem suspicious.”

“Well, I mean,” Kara stuttered, trying to come up with a reasonable defence. “I’m sure they’re just… being cautious?”

“Then I will be cautious in return,” Diana said, unimpressed. “Take us to the DEO.”

It was not a question.

“That’s… classified,” Kara answered

“It’s okay, my love,” Lance turned to Diana. “I identified their shell corporation last year. They own a building in the downtown.”

“How did you…?” Kara asked, just short of amazed.

“All secret government organisations are the same. Utterly predictable. Shall we drive?”

“I have a car waiting out the front?” Lena offered.

 

***

 

“I’m sorry, ma’am, this is private property,” the security guard said, holding up his arm to block Diana. She looked down at it, debating whether to simply push past, or offer a warning first.

“Wait, wait,” Kara called, jogging up behind them in full Supergirl attire. “They’re with me.”

“Sorry, ma’am. Please place any weapons in the tray to the left as you proceed.”

Diana nodded warmly, and moved past him, passing through the scanner without event.

Lance, on the other hand. Pulled two trays from the stack and began slipping knives from various places on his person and laying them into the trays.

“Thank you, sir,” the attendant nodded, more than a little nervous.

“Don’t worry, son,” Lance beamed warmly. “I don’t need them anyway.”

Behind him, Diana could barely contain a smirk.

“The vial around your neck, sir. I’m going to need you to leave that here as well.”

“No,” Lance said simply. “You will not. You have my oath that it is harmless.”

“Sir, I’m sorry but…”

“It’s okay,” Kara cut in. “He can keep the vial.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Once they were through, and Lance’s various weapons were stowed in a safety locker, Kara guided them to an elevator and they began to ascend.

Diana was pleased to note this DEO was much like the one she’d been to previously. The same arrogance of authority and fresh face of optimism in its recruits.

“Level fifty-nine,” the elevator announced, and the doors slid back to reveal a hive of activity, as agents in black hurried back and forth with pads and papers in hand.

Among the chaos, Alex was ordering the mayhem.

Kara cut through the crowd like a hot knife in butter, but Diana and Lance parted it like a sea.

Bother were over six feet tall, and extraordinarily attractive, with an air of power and grace reserved only for royalty. The DEO felt it. Alex did too, but only for a moment, before she brushed her wonder aside.

“I’m sorry, Kara, but whoever you’ve got here, they can’t be in the DEO right now,” Alex insisted. “This is a crime scene. No one but authorised personnel.”

“Alex, just listen. This is Diana and Lance, Lena’s parents.”

“Lena’s parents?” Alex blinked, taking in this new twist of information. “Why are they… here?”

“Ah,” Kara chose her words carefully. “The DEO… stole something of theirs.”

Alex stopped, and gave Diana and Lance her full attention.

“We have a government requisition warrant,” she said, immediately defensive. “And right now I’m going to need you to leave until a time when we’re free to iron this out.”

“Then I suggest you find a way to remove us,” Lance challenged her.

“I’m sorry, you… what?” Alex asked, slightly perplexed.

“You stole a blood sample from L-Corp yesterday,” Lena cut in as she stepped forward. “That was classified property of my corporation, and I would like it back. Now.”

“Ah…” Alex deflated rapidly. “A blood sample.”

“Yes,” Diana confirmed. “It did not belong to you. It’s time you gave it back.”

“I’m sorry to inform you that the sample was stolen at approximately eleven thirty last night. We’re currently trying to locate the thief.”

“You lost it,” Diana said, completely uninspired and resigned to the ineptitude of arrogant humans. “Of course you lost it.”

“I’m still going to need you to leave so that we can continue to assess the situation,” Alex insisted. Some deep instinct told her it would be a very bad idea to irritated or disappoint her. And she sensed she had already done the later.

“They can stay,” J’onn ordered as he approached from the balcony. “In all fairness, it’s our fault they’re here. Next time, Kara, a little forewarning would be nice.”

“J’onn J’onzz,” Diana smiled to him, fully aware he would not recognise her.

“I’m sorry, have we met?”

“Not in this world,” Diana answered. “In another.

“Care to elaborate?” J’onn asked as his gentle mind probe came up against a virtual firewall of mental fortitude.

“Perhaps another time,” Diana offered. “For now, we require answers.”

“Fair,” J’onn nodded. “Whose blood was it?”

“Mine,” Lance frowned.

“I see,” J’onn sized him up. “Well, perhaps you can help us get it back.”

“I will be doing no such thing. I will be finding it, and destroying it.”

“I see,” J’onn frowned. “Then perhaps we can’t work together after all.”

“I had no intention of doing so.”

“Look, I can apologise for losing the sample…” Alex began.

“You did not lose it. You stole it from my daughter, causing her distress, and without the proper capacity to protect it, you allowed it to be stolen. You had no idea what you were taking, and you took it anyway.”

“We have a permit,” J’onn countered.

“I am not interested in the legality. I am interested in protecting this planet from my own poor decision. I trusted my daughter, but apparently it was not her I should have been worried about.”

Before J’onn could respond, the lights began to flicker, and the monitor screen went dark, before returning with the poorly rendered CGI head of a hairless woman.

“We are Cadmus,” it said, and J’onn was suddenly paying a lot more attention. “We currently have possession of Sample 24-46-LL-08. We will exchange it in return for the release of Prisoner A813-H. You will make the drop at the edge of the Sampson Desert at midnight. If you refuse, Sample 24-46-LL-08 will be sold to the highest bidder.”

The monitors flickered off and the lights undimmed themselves.

_Those lunatics are always so damn dramatic_ , J’onn mused.

“Well,” Alex said, turning to the group. “That answers that question.”

“It’s government policy that we do not negotiate with terrorists,” J’onn said. “We’re not releasing A813-H. But the last place we need this thing is one the open market. Alex, gather unit beta. We need to enact Protocol Gamma Three.”

“And you expect us to just stand by and watch you fumble your way through this rather serious situation?” Lance asked, his tone devoid of humour.

“No. I expect you to go home and wait for us to contact you with confirmation that we have re-obtained the sample.”

“You have overestimated your power and importance in this situation,” Diana said.

“Perhaps. I guess we’ll just have to see,” J’onn answered confidently, far more confidently than he felt. “Now I would appreciated it if all three of you departed so that the DEO can get on with our job.”

“Supergirl!” Agent Vasquez called suddenly from behind a monitor on the command platform. “There’s a fire downtown. The Quark Tower. Residence trapped inside.”

Kara turned to Diana, whose expression betrayed nothing.

“I could use a hand.”

“And you will have mine,” Diana nodded, her worry breaking into a small smile.

J’onn and Alex made eye contact, suddenly wary, still trying to understand.

Diana leant over and kissed Lance gently, and then without another word, she stepped back and slid out of her coat and dress, handing them to him and, revealing armour of red, blue and gold and gauntlets of steel.

The atmosphere of the DEO suddenly slowed to an abrupt halt, almost eerily still after the chaos, as one by one every agent realised who had been in their midst the entire time.

Diana simply smiled again, leapt into the air and flew out through the balcony doors and over the city, followed closely by the red streak of Supergirl.

Lance turned back and nodded to J’onn and Alex.

“Shall we?” he asked Lena, and together they turned and swept toward the elevator, the sea of agents parting again. The elevator doors opened as they approached and two unsuspecting agents leapt aside to make way for them. The doors dinged again and closed, cutting them off from the awestruck DEO.

For a long moment, the room was still, before suddenly…

“Get back to work,” J’onn ordered.

And the ordered chaos was jump started again.  

 

***

 

“So, that is the DEO,” Lance said, his tone uninspired.

“It is,” Lena nodded.

“Who is that Alex? She seemed very familiar to Kara. It’s surely not…”

“Kara’s sister,” Lena nodded.

“Ah…” Lance exhaled. “Perhaps we should have made a better first impression.”

“Oh, I think you made quite the impression.”

Lance couldn’t help it. He smiled, and then his smiled turned to a chuckle, and a chuckle to a hearty laugh. “Their faces. By Zeus. You’d think they’d never seen a goddess before.”

Lena’s stony exterior broke and she let out a soft chuckle. “I don’t think they’ll be forgetting today any time soon.”

“How many do you think will go over the security footage, just to make sure it really happened?”

 

***

 

“It was stolen from L-Corp,” Lena explained. “I would like you to return it.”

“Well, you should have taken better care,” Lillian’s voice said over the speaker phone. Lena could hear her lips curling into a cruel smile. “I raised you better than that.”

“You didn’t raise me at all,” Lena said, glaring out over National City.

“Now, now. That’s no way to speak to your mother.”

Lena paused, thinking. _No, it’s time._

“You are not my mother,” Lena spat at the phone.

“Well where is this coming from? Suddenly ungrateful for twenty years of care.”

“No. I know the truth, now. My parents found me, Lillian. My real parents. And my mother is a thousand times the woman that will ever be.”

“This is absurd, Lena. You have no parents but Lionel and your dead whore of a mother. I may not like it, but you are my husband’s child.”

“No. I am not. You should have had me tested.”

“I did,” Lillian said, her tone dangerous. “The test was unequivocally positive.”

Lena was silent for a long moment, before…

“It looks like someone managed to fool the great intellect of Lillian Luthor.”

“That is impossible, Lena. And you know it. You’re smarter than this. Who has fooled you so easily.”

“Perhaps it is you who was fooled. Perhaps you’re simply not as intelligent as you believe.”

With that Lena ended the call, a small spark of satisfaction creeping up into her heart.

 

***

 

“Agent Vasquez, are you ready?”

“Yes, ma’am. Alpha and Bravo teams ready to move. Prisoner A813-H secured.”

But before Alex could give the call to move out, the lights flickered and the monitors went black. Alex sighed inwardly. Not again.

“We are Cadmus. The deal is off.”

“What?” Alex asked to no one in particular.

“Cadmus will keep Sample 24-46-LL-08. The DEO may keep Prisoner A813-H. We are Cadmus.”

The monitors flickered back to their DEO screens and lights brightened back to normal.

“Can they even do that?” Agent Davidson asked.

“I guess they just did.”

 

***

 

Lance looked up at the few stars that winked above the city. It was something he always missed whenever he came into Metropolis. He missed the millions of stars spread out above him, and the beautiful tapestry of the Milky Way. He missed watching them glide slowly toward the horizon and out of sight, returning night after night to track the same course.

Lance’s phone began to vibrate in his pocket, and he pulled it out. ‘Lena’ was flashing on the screen, and he couldn’t help but smile as he answered.

“Lance speaking.”

“Hi, it’s Lena. I was just thinking about our dilemma. I’ve had an idea. I was wondering if you and Diana would like to come and see what you think?”

“I’d love to, though Diana is out at the moment. I’ll let her know where we are and she can come when she’s finished.”

“Is she with Kara?”

“Yes, something about an oil spill.”

“Goodness. It might be a while.”

“I can wait for her if you’d prefer.”

“No, no. I can run it by you and we can tweak it.”

“Great. Are you still at the office?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

 

***

 

“Hi, Jess. I believe Lena is expecting me?”

“Mr Prince, of course. She’s waiting.”

“Thank you,” Lance smiled, sweeping by and knocking on Lena’s double glass doors.

He heard a muffled “Come in” and pushed the doors open, strolling in and letting the doors close silently behind him. Lena was seated at her desk, though she didn’t stand to greet him.

“Lena, wonderful to see you so soon. You mentioned …”

Before he could finish his sentence, a woman stepped out from the wall. She pointed her handgun at Lena’s head.

Lance’s heart began to thump hard against his ribcage, and he knew Diana would feel it.

Behind him, too thugs in black levelled guns at his back. He did not, as would probably have been smart, raise his hands. Instead, he levelled the first woman with a glare that had been known to make small children cry when he least intended.

“Mr Prince,” the woman said, drawing closer to Lena and putting the gun to her temple.

“What do you want?” Lance demanded.

“I want you to know this is all your fault. You see before you showed up and started filling her head with such… lies, my daughter was compliant. Never well-trained, but obedient enough that I could take from her what I need, when I need it. And now, what’s this I hear, but she’s found herself a pretty new family, with a mother and father who claim all kinds of insanity and twist her mind to believe it.”

“Lillian Luthor.”

“Correct. And you are Sample 24-46-LL-08. She spilled everything,” Lillian smiled, gesturing to Lena with the gun.

“People tend to do that when you have a gun to their head.”

“Now, now. Let’s be civil in front of the child, shall we.”

“The only civility you deserve is that which can be found in a court of law.”

“They tried that. Couldn’t even keep me a year behind bars.”

“What do you want, Luthor. If you need to kill someone, kill me. If you need some twisted revenge, I am here. But please, leave Lena out of this.”

Lena’s eyes darted around the room, panic stricken but still silent, and Lance realised with a sickening feeling that she was tied to her chair, and that an empty syringe lay on the desk. She’d been drugged. Dear god she’d been drugged by her own adopted mother.

“Oh, I’m not going to kill her. She’s more use to me alive, since you revealed the beautiful composition of her DNA. You, on the other hand, are a liability. And useless to me.”

Lillian turned the gun on Lance, but before she fired, he was ducking to the side, burying a knife in one thugs thigh and kicking the other in the shin. Both dropped to the ground like stones, but beyond them, another six burst through the doors as Lillian fired two shots that Lance spun to avoid.

In a whirlwind of action, Lance kicked another in the head, dropped one over the coffee table, splintering it into a thousand pieces, and sent a third crashing back through the glass doors.

But there were too many. Another four came piling in after the last, and Lance took a blow to the stomach, and again, and sent a fourth thug into the bookcase, and cut open another with a flawless throw of a knife, and took another hit to the back of the knee before he could grab a sixth. He took a final knee to the head and he found himself face up, staring at into the barrel of Lillian Luthor’s handgun.

“Any last words?”

“Please, she’s done nothing. Don’t hurt her. This is between us…”

Lillian shifted the gun and sent two shots into Lance’s stomach.

Somewhere, Lena screamed through the drugs and struggled against her bindings.

The last thing Lance heard was her calling his name. And then something else… something that sounded too much like...

“Father! Father no…”


	4. Broken Chains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cruel and psychopathic Lillian Luthor continues to be cruel and psychopathic.

Lance coughed and spluttered, drawing deep and painful breathes as he blinked the bright light out of his eyes, spitting blood onto Lena’s carpet.

“Lena… where is…?”

“Lie still. You’re okay,” Diana’s voice soothed. “You are still healing, my love. It is a slower process than I would like.”

“Diana, she was here,” Lance wheezed, sorrow filling his eyes.

“Who was here?”

“Luthor… Lillian Luthor.”

“She did this?”

“Yes but… I was…” Lance reached down and ran his bloody hands along his stomach. “But I was shot.”

Diana smiled, and held up the tiny vial that should have been hung around his neck, now empty.

Ambrosia. The food of the gods.

“That was meant… for a… special occasion,” Lance rasped between aching breathes. Already it hurt less than it had just a few seconds before.

“This was a special occasion,” Diana smiled down at him, cradling his head in her arms.

“That was the last of it.”

“We will find more.”

“She took her, my love. She took our daughter.”

“We will find her.”

“She knows. She knows it is my blood, and she knows that Lena’s is ten times more powerful again. She wants to use her. To keep her alive, I think, to harvest her.”

“We will find her. Soon. But when you are healed. You’re still bleeding internally. We will find her, but you must rest first. I will not lose you both today.”

 

***

 

Alex heard a the thunderous boom from her place by Vasquez’s monitor. When she looked up, she expected to find Kara bouncing toward. Instead, she was staring into the stone cold gaze of an armour clad couple on the DEO balcony.

Every gun in the DEO was up and aiming, safeties clicking off.

“You have no need for them,” Diana’s voice called out. “We come seeking your help.”

“Our…help?” Alex asked, stepping forward to meet them as they strolled down the steps to the command centre floor.

“I’m afraid we might have got off to a unpleasant start. But I would ask that you set that aside, and assist us.”

“Okay. I’ll offer you the benefit of the doubt,” Alex conceded.

“Lillian Luthor has kidnapped our daughter, Lena.”

Alex smoothed her expression. “Tell us everything.”

 

***

 

Lance awoke bleary eyed, head throbbing and left hand aching. But he wasn’t in bed. It was cold, and hard… and made of metal. His eyes flew open, and he found himself surrounded by the thick bars of a steel prison. He was still in his leather and metal armour, though his shoes were missing.

Then he remembered.

Oh god, he remembered. Lena. Lillian Luthor. Alex, the DEO, the rescue operation. The gun fight… Diana and the super soldiers who had attacked them, all jacked up on something inhuman. And the shattering ceiling and then nothing.

His left hand ached… why did his left hand ache?

Lance looked down and to his horror, he found a needle was sticking deep into his vein. He reached over to pull it out, and his hand jerked back against the bars of his prison. Handcuffs. Both hands were cuffed to the cage, the needle and tube were poking out through the bars of his cage and feeding into a quietly whirring machine.

He was being bled. He was being fucking harvested.

Oh god… Luthor.

He strained at the handcuffs, but he felt weak and tired. Too much blood lost. Maybe at full strength he might have had a chance, but like this, there was no way.

Something rattled beside him, the clinking of chains, and something stirring.

“Hello?” Lance asked.

A face spun to meet his gaze.

Lena. Distress. Confusion. Shock. Joy. Shock. Confusion. Distress. It came and went like a palindromic wave.

“Lance?”

“Lena,” Lance breathed, straining harder and rattling the cuffs against the bars.

She sat up suddenly. “Is that… are you really here?”

“Yes, yes. I’m here. I’m okay.”

“But I saw you. She shot you…” Lena breathed, almost apologetically.

“It’s okay. It’ll take more than a few bullets to keep me down. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. I’m okay,” Lena croaked, dragging herself as close as her own cuffs would allow.

But before she could say anything else a door banged and in marched none other than the Luthor woman herself.

“You’re awake,” Lillian said, stopping by the bars of his cage and grinning in at him, her cruelty on full display. “I hope you don’t mind us taking a little sample. See we found your daughter’s blood worked excellently to strengthen our first group, but we’re running a little low. You know, there’s only so much blood one warm body can provide. So I suppose I should be glad you somehow survive our first encounter.”

Lance spat at her feet and said nothing in reply.

Lillian glanced down at the spittle on the cage floor.

“Is that the best you can do?” she raised an eyebrow. “You’re so… disappointing.”

With that she turned away from him and gestured to Lena.

“Hook her up,” she said, jutting her chin at Lena. A clipped and clean young man in a white lab coat rushed to obey.

That stirred something deep in Lance. Something full of rage. Something he’d tried so long to destroy.

“Stop,” he ordered.

Despite his position, the attendant faltered, looking back to Luthor for confirmation.

“Don’t listen to him,” she said with disbelief, shoving him into the cage.

“She was your daughter for twenty years,” Lance growled. “How could you?”

“She was never mine, though, was she? She was useful, that is all,” Lillian said. She looked Lena right in the eye and without hesitation she said, “I never loved her.”

And she meant it.

 

***

 

Lena woke with a start to the loud clanging of metal and the thud of something heavy falling to the floor. She blinked rapidly, the world coming into focus as she pulled herself up, still weak from the blood she was losing to Lillian.

Could blood loss cause hallucinations? Because surely. Surely this was…

As she watched, Lance dropped another guard to the ground, the remnants of his handcuffs dangling from his wrists.

Lena tried to choke out his name, but her throat was parched, exhaustion setting back in.

He ran for her door and in one swift motion, grabbed the bars of her prison and pulled them apart, leaving a big enough gap to step through.

 

_Seconds Before…_

Lance woke in a panic, lights bright against his face, handcuffs still clanging against the bars. But the needle was gone, and the machine was switched off.

He lifted his head and felt strength coursing through his veins again. Ambrosia. He still had some in his system.

It was enough to give him the strength of a god. As long as he wasn’t being used as a blood bank.

Lance yanked his hands, and the chains of his handcuffs snapped clean apart and he pulled himself to his feet. Taking two steps forward, he kicked his cage bars out.

The two guards at the door spun around, wide eyed as he stepped out.

They lifted their batons and charged at him. Fools.

 

_Present…_

Lance knelt beside her, gently shaking her shoulder, slipping the needle from her arm.

“Can you walk?” he asked, voice filled with concern.

“I… I don’t think…” Lena managed.

Without another word, Lance broke her handcuffs and picked her up gently, resting her head against his shoulder.

He took a baton from one of the fallen guards and kicked the prison door out, knocking the two guards on the other side unconscious and heading for the nearest staircase.

 

***

 

Kara’s head snapped up, drowning out the drone of Agent Jones’ report.

“Shhhh,” she said suddenly narrowing her eyes. She could hear it. She could swear she’d heard it.

“I’m sorry?” Jones blinked.

“Shhhhh,” she said again, cocking an ear and waving at him to be quiet. There it was. Kara spun back to the table, meeting Diana’s eyes. “I can hear her heartbeat.”

And with that, Kara was in the air and shooting out the balcony doors, followed closely by Diana.

They hovered out over the city, Kara scanning and listening for any sign. Anything to indicate it was Lena’s heartbeat she’d heard.

Diana could feel Lance’s. They shared a heartbeat, and it had been so weak the last few days. At times almost imperceptible. Terrifyingly faint.

“There!” Kara exclaimed, pointing to the industrial district. Without another word, she shoot down out of the sky and landed with a thunderclap, leaping to her feet and running to the figure jogging out of a concrete compound with Lena in his arms.

Diana followed close behind her, landing with Kara and meeting Lance just outside the fence.

An alarm began to blast. Faint shouting came from the yard.

“We need to go,” Lance said, his voice urgent. “Lena needs a hospital. Now.”

“And you?”

“I’m fine. But she can’t wait.”

Without another word, Diana took Lena from Lance’s arms and she leapt into the air, shooting toward the city.

“Need a lift?” Kara offered as the shouting grew louder.

“That would be wonderful, thank you.”

With that Kara lifted Lance up from under his arms and began following Diana toward the DEO.

 

***

 

“How’s Lena?”

“Stable,” Alex confirmed. “After Diana’s blood transfusion, she’ll make a full recovery. And I personally oversaw the destruction of the blood bags and any needles were used during the procedure.”

“Thank you,” Diana nodded, staring through the glass to her unconscious daughter.

Across from where Lena lay, Kara was firmly planted on a chair by the monitor, still wearing her super suit and scrolling through her phone, glancing up at Lena every few seconds.

“And how is Kara?” Diana asked.

Alex sighed audibly. “She’ll be fine once Lena gains consciousness. “

“Do you think they realise they’ve been virtually dating for the past year?” Diana asked to no one in particular.

“So it’s not just me?” Alex smiled.

“No, it most certainly is not,” Lance grinned.

 

***

 

“I will not fight,” Lance said firmly.

Alex noticed with unease that his hands were shaking.

“Why?” Kara asked, confused.

“Why is unimportant. I will not fight because I choose not to fight.”

“You’re a pacifist,” Kara said, surprised.

“Why is irrelevant.”

“That’s okay,” Alex nodded to Lance. “I’m sure we’re well enough equipped.”

 

***

 

Lena stood on the DEO balcony, watching her father’s white knuckles crack the concrete edge and vibrate with… fear?

“You’re afraid…” she said, surprise and condemnation leaking into her voice.

“Yes. I am afraid,” Lance said, tone still steady.

“Of what?”

“Control. Or lack thereof. I…” Lance stopped, thinking. “Diana is a thousand times more powerful than I will ever be. She is also extremely disciplined. I am not.”

“You’re afraid you’ll hurt someone.”

“No. I have hurt many people.”

“I don’t understand. You’re an ancient warrior with the skill of a god and yet you’ll leave these mortals to fight and die in a battle arguably you are responsible for because, what? You’re afraid you’ll hit too hard?”

Lance took a moment to think. This was enough. No more secrets. Reveal the final truth.

He took a deep breath before he began to speak.

“The first thing you must understand about the old gods is that they enjoyed their pets. Enjoyed the ones that could survive their games. And there is none more stoic than those with the heart of a human and the skill of an Amazon. And they had the power to play the game of chance and cruelty. Giving me half of what I begged for, but never fully.

“They gave me immortality, and they neglected to tell me the price was servitude. They gave me the skills of the huntress Artemis, then laughed as they bound me like a dog in service to Amphitryon. And they set me free, with the body of a serpent and head of a goat and sent their heroes to hunt me down. And then finally, I thought… I thought they had… They gave me the body of a man, and then as some cruel joke, the head of lion. And I became Leandros. The Lion Man. And I was hunted for my skin. And when I could not spend another day as prey for their children, they lead me to the Underworld with the promise of death, and then with trickery they chained me the gates to guard the River Styx.

“Only when they died did the curses begin to fade. Slowly. Very slowly. Until I broke my chains, and came back to the sunlight. And found my world was dead, and a new one risen. I spent a thousand years in service to gods now forgotten. Gods who mean nothing to you, even while I still feel the scars across my back left by the sword of Heracles. I can still feel the wounds where the hunters’ arrows pierced my flanks. I can still feel the weight of chains that bound me to the gates of Hades’ realm, as I beat off the miserable dead from the peace they sort and that I knew they deserved.

“Please, do not mistake my inaction for indifference. I am not indifferent. I have never been indifferent. But I did not suffer the whip of sadistic gods to play war with a petulant child.

“I promised I would protect you… and I couldn’t even do that. I will not fail again.”

 

***

 

“Widen your stance. Lower your centre. A warrior’s power is in her stance,” Diana instructed, circling Lena.

Her daughter was dressed in black combat pants and a spare DEO polo. Her feet were bare, and her fists clenched, and around her forearms were clasped the Bracelets of Submission, leant to her for the duration of the training.

Diana felt bare without them, but she shook it off. At this moment, it was more important to test Lena’s capabilities. She wore the same black combat slacks and a workout shirt, with her sword strapped across her back, just in case.

Lena did as she was told.

“You’re powers have remained dormant while you believed yourself human. You are not human. It is time to release what has been locked away.”

Across the room, Kara, Alex, Maggie, J’onn, M’gann and Lance stood watching.

For twenty minutes, Diana had Lena catching punches, taking hits from the butt of a wooden staff she was wielding, and repeatedly falling to the mats, pounding them in frustration.

Until finally, Lena snapped.

“I can’t do this! I’ve never been good at this! I can double your profits, but I can’t lift a damn sword or land a punch, okay? Maybe I’m not meant for this!” Lena cried, brow creasing in frustration.

“Very well,” Diana nodded, turning suddenly and walking away.

“What’re you doing?” Lena asked. “Are we… are we done?

Without answering, Diana pulled a hand gun from the rack that stood by the wall, spun on her heals, pointed it across the room, straight at Kara’s chest and fired twice without hesitation.

Lena sprang into action before her mind could process what was happening.

She was across the room, pivoting in front of Kara, lifting her forearms to block.

She watched the bullets bounce off the cuffs and bury themselves into the concrete wall.

Without taking a moment, Diana drew her sword, took two steps toward Lena and swung down hard. She couldn’t let her think about this. As soon as she thought too hard, she would falter.

Again Lena blocked.

And again.

Swing. Block. Swing. Block. Swing. Block.

This wasn’t about training. This was about reflexes. Diana wanted to know how fast she was, how well she could judge speed and force. How fast she could get out of the way.

Diana swiped her foot, expecting to topple Lena with ease. But Lena jumped, and as she landed she kicked the sword out of Diana’s hand, her concentration falling away as the sword buried itself in the back wall.

Lena stumbled backward in shock.

“I’m so sorry…” Lena started, but Diana silenced her with a hand.

“Do not be sorry,” she smiled. “You are excellent.”

“I am?”

“You are,” Diana nodded. “You have the makings of a warrior.”

Across the room, Kara raised her hand sheepishly. “I’m sorry, did you just try to shoot me?”


	5. Luthor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter! enjoy.

Alex tightened the straps of her combat vest and holstered a handgun as she eyed Diana in the corner, sharpening a wicked sword on the DEO’s laser. On the other side of the glass wall, they could see three dozen agents were gearing up.

“Okay Supergirl,” Winn grinned, tightening the last strap. “That should be about it.”

 Kara turned to Alex to show off the new anti-kryptonite breastplate Winn had designed.

“It’s very attractive,” Alex couldn’t help but chuckled a little at the way Kara stood there, hands on hips, trying her best to look fierce. “But does it do its job?”

“I’m pretty sure the science is solid,” Winn nodded, surveying his handy work. “It worked in theory and basic testing.”

What Winn neglected to mention was that they’d yet to test it properly in combat.

Before Alex could point this out, there was a commotion outside and Diana looked up to find Lena storming into the armoury.

“What is this?”

“Agent Vasquez has located Cadmus’s new headquarters,” Alex began. “We intend to…”

“No, not that,” Lena breathed, her tone dangerous as she turned to her mother. “Why was I not told? Why are you going without me?”

“This will likely to be a dangerous mission, and most certainly not a suitable assignment for a trainee.”

“A trainee?” Lena scoffed. “You’ll need me. This is Lillian Luthor. I know her. I know what she is capable of. I’m a valuable resource in our fight against her. Use me.”

“Your offer is unnecessary.”

“So I’m unnecessary now…”

“That is not what I said.”

“…but you and Kara are running headlong into battle against a bunch of super humans jacked up on my blood and god knows what kind of brainwashing?”

“I have trained for nine hundred years, and Kara is bulletproof, and hopefully now kryptonite proof also.”

“And what about them?” Lena asked, waving at the dozens of agents holstering weapons in the next room.

“I have no power over their actions or protection.”

“So their lives worth less than mine?”

“That is not what I said,” Diana felt fear and frustration penetrate her cool.

“What do you mean then?!”

“I lost you once,” Diana cried. The room fell absolutely silent around her, and she took a deep breath to still her heart, and said more quietly, “I will not lose you again.”

Very slowly, Lena took a deep, calming breath and looked her mother in the eye.

“What I do is not up to you,” she said firmly, and with that, she swept back out the door and out of sight.

 

***

 

“It’s a straightforward mission,” Alex announced to the gathered agents. “Search, apprehend and destroy. Intel reports Lillian Luthor is attempting to raise an army of super humans. We find Luthor and arrest her. We find her guinea pigs and we arrest them. We find the materials she’s using for her experiments and we destroy them. We are fully authorised to engage any and all hostiles. Lillian Luthor is to be taken alive if at all possible.”

**

“Detonate.”

The door blasted inward.

“Advance,” Agent West commanded.

His unit streamed into the building and were pinned down almost immediately by a hail of gunfire.

**

“Fire.”

The north entrance was melted with a single blast from an experimental laser canon.

“Advance,” Alex commanded.

There entrance was far smoother.

Two shots to the kneecaps took out the guards inside the door, and it was a clear run for almost a hundred yards before the alarms started wailing.

**

Wonder Woman raised her fist and with a single blow, punched an enormous hole in the wall.

Behind her, three DEO agents visibly gulped.

Without hesitation she stepped through, raising her shield in anticipation of an attack.

None came.

“Where will we find her?” Wonder Woman asked over the comm.

_“Fresh intel says she spends most of her time on basement four,”_ Alex’s voice crackled in her ear.

Diana made it ten paces before a sonic boom blew the dust up behind her, and Supergirl jogged through the buildings newest entrance.

“Weren’t you going in beside your sister?” Diana asked.

“She’s fine. Right now you’re closer to Lillian Luthor.”

“Can you see her?”

“The building has been lined with lead,” Kara shook her head. “I’m as good as blind.”

**

Alex located the northern stairwell and with the motion of two fingers they began to descend.

**

Wonder Woman and Supergirl, with the ten DEO agents accompanying them, began a descent of the southern stairwell.

**

Two levels down, Alex encountered the first of the super humans.

They moved with incredible speed, leaping up the stairs to meet her unit.

Alex automatically aimed for the knees, taking out two before she was forced to take cover from the hail of bullets the others threw.

 

***

 

“I’m not just going to let them fight my battle and expect me to wait on the side lines, hoping nobody dies.”

“You can contribute more from here. Where you’re safe.”

“I’m not contributing anything!” Lena cried, frustrated again. She shook her head to calm herself. And steady her breathing. “I know Lillian Luthor. I know her, and it cannot be this easy.”

“Why not? Perhaps she has finally slipped up?”

“No. She has contingency plans for her contingency plans. Nothing is easy.”

“You think she knows they’re coming?”

Lena nodded, and stood to leave.

“Don’t try to stop me,” she said firmly.

For a long moment, Lance considered whether or not he should. And before he could decide, a dormant memory awoke and gave him pause, before finally, he stopped his internal struggle and breathed out a deep sigh.

“Can we make a stop on the way?”

 

***

 

Wonder Woman and Supergirl fought their way down to the fourth underground level. With most of Cadmus drawn north to West and Alex’s units, they met comparatively little resistance.

That is, until Wonder Woman kicked in the door on the fourth level, and they were finally met by a hail of bullets.

Supergirl took the lead, drawing fire and knocking down three super soldiers as Wonder Woman leapt in behind her, taking out another four in three swift movements, deflecting bullets with her gauntlets.

Across the room, she could see Lillian Luthor, hurrying toward the elevator, briefcase in hand.

_Not this time_ , Diana thought. In a single leap she was across the room and landing in front of Lillian Luthor.

Diana did not relish violence. It was only a necessary means to a necessary end. She did not, and never would, enjoy causing another creature pain. This was the rare occasion, however, where her emotions got away from her.

“Surprise,” Diana smiled, and punched Luthor square in the face.

Her adversary collapsed to the floor, nose already beginning to bleed, as her guards leapt at Wonder Woman, fists ready and high on her daughter’s blood.

Diana took a hit, and another, dropping two soldiers with a blow from her shield before she felt a sharp pain and watched a bullet pass clean through her shoulder.

Kara was still occupied by a stream of Cadmus agents throwing kryptonite grenades at her. Thankfully, it looked like Winn’s Krypto-Shield was working thus far.

Diana was struck from behind, a blow to the back of the head that made her stumble. She spat out the bloody that seeped into her mouth. The bullet wound would heal soon enough. Not immediately, but soon.

Diana spun into the air and kicked two of her adversary to the ground before another bullet whizzed by, missing by a mere inch.

She blocked another, but as she turned to strike the soldier who shot it, she felt an impossibly hard blow to the back of her head, that caused her vision to blur.

They fought without honour.

Another struck her, and someone kicked her to the ground as Lillian clambered to her feet, face bloody.

“Any last words,” she smirked as a nameless soldier pointed what appeared to be a rocket launcher at Wonder Woman’s head.

“You will never win.”

“It looks like I already have,” Lillian laughed, watching the carnage before turning back to Diana.

But the goddess was up already, flipping her captors onto their backs and knocking another into the wall.

“Fire, for god sake,” Lillian screamed at her soldiers, and they turned the rocket launcher on her again.

But even as she said it, the elevator dinged, and suddenly every Cadmus agent in the room dropped like a stone, all buzzing with the electric shock delivered from their neck implants. As the doors slid open, Lillian’s face fell in horror and then twisted with rage.

Lena stepped out, a small black remote in one hand and a gun in the other, still dressed in the same red pencil skirt and black blouse she’d been wearing earlier. No time to change, apparently.

“Surprise,” Lena said, her face hard as stone.

“Lena?” Kara asked, stunned, throwing a now unconscious Cadmus agent over her shoulder and into the wall behind her.

Diana smiled slightly. That was her daughter.

Out from behind her stepped Lance, dressed for battle, holding his sword.

“Lance?” Diana could barely believe her eyes. Lance was here. Lance, who detested fighting, was dressed for battle.

Lena turned to the stunned Lillian Luthor, tossing the now useless immobiliser at her. “That’s the problem with having contingency plans for your own super soldiers, isn’t it? You never know who will use them.”

“You…” Lillian spat, her face twisting with rage. She lunged forward, hands stretching out to Lena’s throat.

Diana and Lance lunged too.

But before they could reach her, Lillian was thrown onto her back, the air knocked form her lungs, Lena’s punch landing square on her chest. Before she could stand again, Lena’s boot was on her throat, a gun pointed at her forehead.

Lillian felt a drop of fear seep into her anger. Fear. She had not felt his in a very long time.

“Don’t touch me,” Lena growled, her chest filling with rage and her eyes with hatred. “You’ll never hurt anyone ever again.”

Lena clicked the safety off. She was ready. Ready to shoot. Finally she’d be rid of her.

“Lena, wait,” her mother’s voice said.

Her mother.

Her mother’s voice.

“You don’t need to do this.”

“Yes, I do,” Lena whispered, almost to herself. She’d never killed anyone before. But this. This was necessary. “I do.”

“No. You don’t. The world will have justice for her crimes.”

“We tried that. She escaped. There’s no plan that we can make that she won’t foil. No prison that we built that she can’t escape from.”

“This isn’t about her, Lena. This is about you. Killing someone… it’s a shadow you will never be free of.”

“I always knew you were weak,” Lillian smirked, tasting blood.

“I am not weak,” Lena whispered.

“No,” Diana said firmly. “Compassion is not weakness.”

“It’s what she deserves,” Lena insisted, the gun shaking in her hand.

“It’s not about what she deserves,” her mother said gently. “It’s about what you believe.”

 

***

 

Kara heaved Lillian up and clapped a pair of thick handcuffs around her wrists as half a dozen agents swarmed around them, dragging her off as she kicked and screamed in defiance.

All sense of her calm insanity was gone. She was raving now. Just like Lex the day he was taken.

Diana turned to Lance and Lena, and despite the carnage, she smiled.

“You came,” she said, and he couldn’t help but smile back.

“I remembered something you had said to me once,” Lance nodded. “Something Steve Trevor had said to you. ‘If you see something wrong happening in the world, you can either do nothing, or you can do something’. I have done nothing for far too long.”

Diana touched both of their cheeks, her own bright with a happiness.

“Alex? Alex!” Kara suddenly screamed.

In a second she was across the room, taking Alex from the arms of an agent and lowering her to the ground.

“Alex. Alex can you hear me?” Kara said, desperate and afraid. She was covered in blood. Kara couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Everywhere. It felt like it was coming from everywhere. Kara squeezed her shoulders and tapped her cheeks. Alex stirred, barely conscious.

In a moment Diana was beside her, checking her over.

“With your permission, I can slow the bleeding,” Diana told her.

“Do it,” Kara nodded without hesitation.

Diana lifted the sword from her back again, and with one swift motion she drew a cut across her hand, and let the blood that sprang forth drip onto the wound at Alex’s thigh.

“It will not heal her, but it will be enough to get her back to the DEO,” Diana said as she helped Kara lift her into a comfortable hold. “Follow me closely.”

Without another word, Diana slid her shield onto her arm and shot up through the ceiling, punching through four floors and the warehouse roof, letting sunlight stream in behind her as she carved a hole for Kara and Alex to follow.

 

***

 

Lena stood outside the hospital bed, watching Kara and Maggie talking quietly over Alex’s bed, the doctor clasping a clipboard gesturing gently to various places on an X-ray chart. Lena couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she could read the charts, and it didn’t look good.

Diana stepped up behind her, a fresh bandaged now wrapped around her shoulder.

“How is she?”

“Not so good,” Lena admitted. “Her left elbow and fibula were both shattered. The shot to her abdomen was clean but she still lost a lot of blood. Thankfully, the other bullet wounds missed all her major organs and will heal over time. She was caught off guard pulling another agent from danger.”

“An honourable warrior.”

“Very.”

“Will these doctors be able restore her strength?” Diana asked, brow furrowed.

“I don’t know. Honestly, probably not. She might go back to work, but she’ll never be back in the field. They don’t even know if they’ll be able to fit a prosthetic to the arm they had to amputate at this point. Apparently some of the bullets were poisoned too.”

“What would you do, if I told you I may have the capacity to heal her.”

“I would say use it. But… shouldn’t you use it on all the injured soldiers?”

“I could not. Which is part of my doubt. But she is, in some tenuous way, my daughter.”

“I’m sorry?” Lena asked, turning to her mother in confusion.

“She is my daughter’s companion’s sister.”

“Oh, Kara and I aren’t…”

Diana laid a hand on Lena’s shoulder and spun to face her.

“My love, I have watch both of you. Do you really think you can fool the goddess of love? Do with this what you will, but I can tell you with absolutely certainty that she loves you very much. And I think we both know that you love her.”

Behind her, the doctor clicked the door shut behind himself and hurried off down the corridor. Diana lifted her hands from Lena’s shoulders and knocked on the hospital room door. Kara nodded and she entered quietly.

She waited until she had both of their attention before she spoke.

“I have… an unorthodox solution.”

“Yes?” Maggie asked warily.

“I cannot heal her here. I do not have the means. But I know where I can find them.”

“Where?” Maggie half asked, half begged.

“My home, the Island of Themyscira. But I cannot remove them from the island.”

“Then we’ll go there. I’ll do anything.”

 

***

 

“No. I can’t go. There’s too much to do here. Luthor’s trial. I have to witness.”

“Alex, you need to heal. That’s more important than anything right now, and Diana said she can help.”

Alex continued to list a dozen, far less important and work related reasons as to why she should wait and stay before…

“Alex,” J’onn said suddenly, cutting through the noise and surprising everyone, especially Alex. The hospital room fell quiet, all eyes on him. “I’m ordering you to take a mandatory break. You have almost six months of vacation time accrued. Take it. We’ll be okay.”

Alex blinked, opening and closing her mouth, though not a single word came out.

“Say thank you,” J’onn instructed.

“Thank you, sir,” Alex blinked.

“Good,” J’onn said, the slightest of smiles tugging at his lips. “Now pack up and go heal. I expect pictures.”

 

***

 

“Wait,” Lena said as Diana turned to leave her office.

Her mother turned back, brow lifted in a silent question.

Lena slipped a sheaf of papers into Diana’s hand.

“What’s this?” her mother asked

“Just look,” Lena urged, her mask cracking slightly, eyes terrified.

Diana looked down and scanned the page.

It read in big, block letters ‘Petition for Change of Name’, and beneath it, in the ‘Requested Name’ section, Diana blinked back tears as she read the words ‘Lena Aella Prince’.

Diana head snapped up to catch Lena watching her, nervous and expectant.

“Really?” was all she could ask.

“I submitted it today.”

Diana was truly lost for words. This was… it was…

Lena took the papers from Diana’s hand, placed them on the desk beside her and stepped into their first real hug.

Lena, who hated hugs. Lena, who would sooner call security. Lena, who had been touch starved since she was four. Lena, who had missed out on a childhood, and a family who loved her.

Lena Luthor, who hated hugs from anyone other than Kara Danvers.

Lena Aella Prince, who couldn’t think of a single reason to avoid them any longer.

 

***

 

“Mags, babe. I was wondering…” Alex said, wheeling herself into their bedroom.

“Yeah babe?” Maggie asked, turning from where she stood folding shirts into a suitcase.

“We never did get that honeymoon you wanted, did we?” Alex asked, and Maggie knew exactly where she was going.

“If you’re about to ask if I want to include our honeymoon on this trip to lesbian island? The answer is yes.”

Maggie cupped her face in her hands and Alex couldn’t help but smile into their kiss.

 

***

 

Maggie wheeled Alex out of the lift and onto to the DEO’s roof, expecting to see a helicopter waiting. Instead Alex found Diana, Lance, Lena and Kara waiting for them, no luggage in hand.

“Change of plans?” Alex asked warily, preparing for disappointment.

“No. Our luggage is already aboard,” Diana smiled, and with a wave of her hand, the air on the helipad began to shimmer. Before their eyes, the crystalline outline of a jet appeared, refracting the skyline behind it and leaving itself just barely visible. It was like… an invisible plane?

“That… was… awesome…,” Alex breathed. She turned to Maggie, and found her wife grinning like a fool as well.


	6. Princess of Themyscira

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! Thank you so much for reading.  
> I've decided this fic is post-Justice League (2017). It doesn't change anything that's come before, but it does mean something for this chapter.  
> I hope you enjoyed this fic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say a special thank you to skyraine, Leapyearbaby29, Trxmberly, TheMasterTinker, mirmar24, and Kittykay20 for the lovely comments. Your enthusiasm really help me finish this fic!  
> I hope you like the ending. I honestly already miss these characters so much.

The Invisible Jet pierced the barrier without resistance. Instantly the clouds cleared to reveal a blue sky and bright sunlight falling gently onto the island of Themyscira.

“Welcome to paradise,” Diana smiled.

“Welcome home,” Lance added, resting a hand on her shoulder and watching the island cliffs approach.

Diana pressed de-cloak, and the Invisible Jet shifted from completely undetectable into its crystalline from; visible enough for the watchful Amazons to see.

Sure enough, a horn sounded on the cliff’s edge, ringing out across the bay and rolling over the grassy hills, sending word down into the city of an approaching sky vessel.

Diana touched the Jet down on a grassy plateau above the city, powering down the engines and slipping off her safety belt. She engaged the ramp with the press of the keypad, feeling the soft Themysciran breeze as it lowered to the grass.

As they stepped out of the plain, Diana heard the familiar thunder of hooves. As the greeting party approached, the forests edge filled with the faces of curious children. Those children who had been adopted by the Amazons, at the request of Diana, after the last devastating human war.

The party galloped across the sea of grass toward the get, and as Diana came into focus, their bows were immediately lowered and swords sheathed, and when finally they reached her, standing there on the ramp of the jet, the Amazons dismounted and offered deep bows in greeting to their Princess.

“Stand, please,” Diana insisted, and stepped down to embrace her old friend, Artemis, and then Phillipus and Menalippe.

Behind her, Lance stepped out of the belly of the jet, Lena and Kara waiting cautiously behind him. Lena did not know what to expect. A warm welcome, or an arrow to the chest. One glance at these Amazons and Lena was both terrified and… slightly aroused?

“Leandros,” Artemis acknowledged him, and clapped him on the back in greeting.

As the Amazons looked up to the others, Lena and Kara began a careful descent down the ramp.

“Well then, who is this?” Menalippe inquired, eyeing them curiously.

“My sisters,” Diana announced, turning back to smile at Lena, resting her hand on her shoulder. “This is my daughter, Lena.”

For a stunned moment, the Amazons stood motionless, only blinking in amazement and disbelief. And then one by one, they lowered themselves to kneel on the grassy plateau.

“Princess,” Menalippe smiled, and she would freely admit her eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

“No, please don’t…” Lena began, embarrassed at their formality and welcome, and even a little uncomfortable at being called ‘princess’. But the sound of another party of thundering horse hooves cut her off.

Diana turned to see who rode, and Lance felt his wife’s heart falter. Then, perhaps that was his own.

All reverence forgotten, the Queen Hippolyta leapt off her horse and pulled Diana into a tight embrace, tears staining her cheeks.

“My daughter,” she breathed, feeling her warmth for the first time in too long. “My love. My heart is returned to me.”

As they freed each other, Diana turned once again to Lena.

Hippolyta needed no explanation. She knew, as only a grandmother might. She stepped toward Lena and cupped her face in her hands.

Still, she said nothing. Perhaps she was unable to speak.

Lena felt no desire to escape the gentle touch as Hippolyta rested her forehead against her own. She felt tears spill over onto her cheeks, but not for one moment did she consider wiping them away.

 

***

 

“A toast,” Hippolyta called to the Amazons, pausing the feast with her goblet in the air. “To our guests from our sister Earth. May your stay be long and filled with delight. And to my daughter, returned to us in peace again.”

“Diana!” the Amazons toasted in unison.

“And to my son, returned to us in peace again.”

“Leandros!” they called, pounding their cups upon the tables.

“And to my granddaughter, returned in peace, to the home where she belongs. To the Princess Lena Aella.”

“To the Princess Lena!” they cheered, and drank deeply from their cups.

The atmosphere of the room remained excited, charged with the cheer of the returning. Silver plates and cups glinted and joyous eyes glistened in the torchlight. The air itself, not too cool or too warm, seemed to dance with gladness.

Truly, it was a paradise.

 

***

 

Diana glided gracefully down the palace’s spiral staircase, heart singing with the joy of being home again, mind buzzing with thoughts of Lena and her mantle as a goddess. As she took the final steps and was about to emerge onto the palace’s rampart, she spotted Lena and Kara lingering by the wall, looking out at the view as often as they smiled at each other, talking in hushed whispers like small children, giggling on occasion at something the other had said.

Diana stopped and slid back, just out of their line of vision, and watched for a moment.

A thought struck Diana in that moment, with her daughters black hair falling around her shoulders and Kara’s smile drinking in the sunlight. The moon and the sun. They reminded her of night and day. Two completely different forms of the same thing, complimenting each other in every way.

And then Lena was leaning forward slightly, and Kara was leaning too. With the sun shining down, and the wind rustling the green leaves of Paradise Island, Lena brushed her lips against Kara’s, and after a moment of uncertainty, Kara took Lena’s face in her hands and gently kissed her back.

Diana shook her head gently and smiled to herself. She waited only a moment longer, unable to shift her grin, before she turned back and began to ascend the staircase silently.

What she had to discuss could wait until Lena was no longer occupied.

 

***

 

“Finally,” Alex smiled, and Maggie rested a hand on her shoulder.

“It took them long enough,” she laughed. Below on the rampart, they could see Lena and Kara finally, _finally_ , letting themselves fall in love.

A knocking came from their door.

“That’ll be us.”

Maggie left Alex to go see who it was. She pulled it open to reveal an Amazon, dressed in their casual long, plain dress and leather belt, waiting patiently.

“Hello,” the woman greeted her with a gentle smile. “I am Penthiselea. Our Chief Healer, Epione, sent me to fetch you.”

“Hi. Ah, Maggie, lovely to meet you. Alex is just coming now.”

 Even as she said it, Alex rolled round the corner.

“I’m here. Hey, I’m Alex, nice to meet you,” she greeted Penthiselea with a nod and a smile. They had both worked out very quickly that Amazons had no concept of a handshake, and if you offered one, that would stare at it blankly until you withdrew it.

“Shall we then?”

Penthiselea led them out of the building and into the cobbled streets. The Amazons, always kind to those they had welcomed, greeted them with smiles.

As they moved through the town without hindrance, a thought suddenly struck Alex.

“This town surprisingly wheelchair accessible,” she commented absentmindedly.

 “How do you mean?” Penthiselea looked to her, puzzled.

“Well, I mean I can get everywhere without any trouble.”

“Why would you have trouble?”

“I guess, on our Earth, sometimes people don’t build buildings with wheelchairs in mind. Mostly, actually.”

“Don’t you find that to be impractical?” Penthiselea’s brow dipped in confusion.

“Yeah, well. I guess they just don’t want to make the extra effort.”

“It is not an ‘extra effort’. It is merely an ordinary amount of effort. Those craftsmen who fail to make a building that some cannot enter should not be responsible for constructing them at all,” Penthiselea stated with finality.

Maggie couldn’t help but marvel at just how much better the world would be if the Amazons had built it.

“Why would you build a house without a door?” Penthiselea whispered to herself, shaking her head.

It was not a long journey to the healer, and Epione was waiting for them by the door.

“Alex and Maggie. Welcome,” Epione greeted them. “Thank you, Penthiselea.”

Penthiselea gave a small bow and said goodbye, leaving them with her.

“Diana tells me you have come seeking the healing of the Amazons.”

“If it’s not too much to ask.”

“Nothing the Princess asks is too much.”

 

***

 

Diana found Artemis and Lance on the training green under the warm Themysciran sun, sparring. As much as she loved her husband, he could never hope to best Artemis. She was, after all, the greatest of their warriors.

Lance kept his own, however, for a surprisingly long while, before Artemis grabbed his wrist, punched him square in the jaw and pulled the sword from his grip, toppling him over her shoulder and dropping him onto the grass.

“You got me,” he wheezed and coughed, completely winded.

Diana could not help but smile. As she did, Artemis spotted her and waved her over.

“Artemis,” Diana greeted her. “I have a request, if it’s not too much to ask?”

“Anything for you, Princess.”

“My daughter, Lena. She is kind and brave but she would be as useless on the battlefield as a flurry of wind. Would you train her?”

“It would be an honour,” Artemis said, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“I should warn you, despite her natural reflexes, it will be like training a child.”

“I have not had a true challenge since I trained you to wrestle. And that was nearly seven hundred years ago. I welcome it.”

“Then she is yours to instruct. I trust your judgement entirely.”

Lance finally rolled himself to his feet and staggered up.

“Thank you, Artemis. For the fight and for training our daughter.”

“There is no need for thanks. To train a goddess? There is no higher honour.”

 

***

 

“Lena?”

“Mother?”

“I don’t think I will ever tire of hearing you call me that,” Diana admitted.

“I don’t think I’ll ever tire of saying it.”

“I came because we have not yet discussed the matter of your godhood.”

“My what now?” Lena blinked.

“You’re godhood. You are a goddess.”

Lena’s breath caught and her eyes glazed over.

“Lena?”

“Yes, sorry. I just… a goddess?”

“Yes. I thought that was clear after the matter of your parentage? It is not a significant responsibility if you do not wish it to be. I am the Goddess of War but I do not have a hand in every one. And I am the Goddess of Love, which some would argue is rather conflicting commitments.”

“What am I the…” Lena coughed nervously, barely able to say the word. She licked her lips and forced it out. “…the goddess… of, exactly?”

“I do not know.”

“And, the other gods are…?”

“Dead now. Their powers past to me when I defeated my brother Ares.”

“How do I… how will I know what I’m the god of?”

“There are ways to tell. I have my suspicions. But in the end, we must discover the extent of your power and only then will we know your patronage. And, in order to discover your power, you must learn to fight.”

“Fight?” Lena asked cautiously.

“Yes. Fight. A great goddess masters all the tools at her disposal in the hope that she might never use them, but in preparation for when she must.”

“When do I begin?”

“Tomorrow. Artemis will be your teacher.”

 

***

 

“Kara,” Diana called.

Kara spun from where she stood on the grassy cliff, looking out to the sea and the sunshine.

“Diana,” Kara grinned, her infectious optimism giving her a halo of sunlight.

“There is something I wish to talk with you about. About Lena.”

“Anything,” Kara nodded, her smile flickering ever so slightly.

“I know she cares for you very, very much, and you for her. But is something you must understand. I do not expect you to marry her tomorrow, though admittedly I would no objections. It is simply that there are things she has not yet discovered, about herself, and her power, and the world. These things will shape who she is becoming. She will still be Lena, but she will be extraordinarily different.”

“I know,” Kara nodded, trying her best to sound confident.

“I do not think you do. But that is okay. If it helps, if you need it, I’m sure Lance will answer any questions you have about dating a goddess.”

“I’m sorry I… a goddess?” realisation dawned on Kara.

_Of course she’s a goddess, Zor-El! Wake up…_ she scolded herself.

“Yes,” Diana smiled. “A goddess. And a princess. And maybe one day a hero.”

Kara opened her mouth to speak, and immediately closed it. This didn’t change anything, it just required a little adjusting.

“This is not a deterrent. You simply must understand what you are in for. In particular, the nature of your own heartbeat.”

“My… my heartbeat?”

“Yes, your heartbeat. Once you give your heart to a Goddess, you are bound together indefinitely. Your hearts beat as one.”

“Does that mean you and Lance…?”

“Yes, we share the very flow of our blood through our veins. I feel each of his struggles as I would my own. As you would feel hers, and she, yours.”

Kara may have been embarrassed to admit it, but the only thought swirling around in Kara’s head at that moment was the realisation and relief that she wouldn’t accidentally hurt Lena. Ever.

“Think on it. Speak with Lance. I will see you tomorrow for breakfast.”

“Not tonight for the feast?”

Kara did particularly enjoy the feasting.

“There is something I must take care of tonight.”

 

***

 

Diana descended down, down into the darkness of the Underworld, the torches flickering to life as she appeared and extinguishing themselves behind her. Despite her godhood, she possessed no power to see or speak with the dead, only the power to travel to the dark places beneath the Earth. The shadowy places, the places where monsters where banished and even the dead refused to venture.

Down and down she journeyed, until there were no more torches, and the air was so hot and she was so close to the mantel of the earth that no mortal could survive.

And still, she journeyed further.

And further.

Until finally, she came to the carved stone entrance of a create fissure in the stone wall. Across the archway, written in ancient runes to curse those bound inside, were the words “None who lack the favour of the gods shall pass.”

Without hesitation, Diana swept inside and was engulfed in darkness. When the passed through the arch, the air turned ice cold, so cold even she shuddered. And as her eyes adjusted, she found it much the same as she had left it.

Tartarus. The Pit of Monsters. Where the Titans lay in pieces and the foulest creatures of the ancient world were sent to die.

By the mouth of the pit stood a boulder, and chained in rags to the boulder lay a woman.

She stirred as Diana drew near, and looked up into the face of her jailer.

Diana stared down at her, anger bleeding into her heart.

“Why then? You are cruel and a trickster, but surely… even you would not stoop so low?”

“How lovely to see you again, Diana,” Circe sneered. “It’s been too long.”

“Not long enough,” Diana murmured, her face grave.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

Diana did not answer. She only stared down at the witch, her stony face filled with cold fury.

Circe’s smile flickered.

“You found her, then?”

Diana considered not answering. But eventually, she could not hold back.

“After many, many years, yes. Why, Circe? You tried a hundred times to kill me, and I detest you but I also understand your unbridled desire for power. But to take my child? Even for a cruel witch like you, it is unforgiveable.”

“Only a God can kill another God,” Circe snarled, her face devoid of sympathy. “As much as I dislike the laws of ancient things, I cannot break them. And I could not build a god, but their you were, making one for me.”

“And you gave her to a family of hateful and manipulative psychopaths,” Diana glared, understanding. “You intended to have my daughter murder me. To keep her from my sight until she grew strong enough to defeat me, and twisted enough to believe it was right.”

“And I would have succeeded,” Circe spat. “If you had not caught me sooner.”

“But I did. I have my daughter returned to me. And you will never touch her again.”

“Nothing that has not come to pass is certain.”

Diana stepped back into the shadows, leaving Circe seething by the pit’s edge.

Dian quashed the anger she felt permeating her infinite compassion. And as she stepped through the arch again, she wiped her mind clean of Circe, and began the journey toward her second destination.

 

***

 

When Diana emerged from the hidden mouth of the Underworld, it was already well into the hours of the early morning. She leapt into the air and began the flight back to Themyscira.

When she landed gently on the parapet of the palace, she was surprised to find Lance, Lena and Kara hurrying across the courtyard below.

“Lance, my love. Well timed. I have something for you.”

“For me?” Lance asked.

Diana lifted a small vial from around her neck. The same vial Lance usually wore, only now, it was full again.

“All the way down to the underworld?” Lance shook his head. “Thank you, my princess.”

“Of course.”

Lance kissed her gently, before hanging the restored vial back around his neck and tucking it underneath his shirt.

“What is the occasion?” Diana queried.

“A star is forming tonight,” Lance revealed excitedly. “I thought to take Lena and Kara to watch it birth.”

“The observatory then?”

“Yes.”

With that she joined them, and they walked together to the hill behind the palace where the observatory stood, it’s ancient telescope trained at the heavens.

 

***

 

Lena was hunched over and peering into the telescope, watching in breathless awe.

“Wait… it’s happening!” Lena breathed, and in a matter of seconds the enormous gas cloud began to collapse. She stood there, unable to draw a breath as she watched the star begin to form.

Diana stepped back up to the platform with an enormous, dusty tome in hand. She lay it out on to bench and began turning its pages, trying to find the correct classification.

When Lena finally stepped back from the telescope, her smile was unshakeable. Astronomy was her hobby, and she had just watched the beginning of one of the most beautiful events in the sky unfold in real time.

“You’ve seen it born. Now you must name it,” Diana told her.

“Really?” Lena’s eyes grew wide and excited.

“Really.”

“Can I… can I think about it?”

“Of course.”

 

***

 

Lena found a desk near the back of the palace library and set down the stack of books she’d gathered, including the Tome of Stars. She flipped through its pages, admiring every name and digesting the meaning and story behind it. Many were named for heroes, some for animals, some for gods, some for lovers and children.

She wanted to name hers something special. Something that she’d remember until the end of her days. Which apparently was going to be in a very, very long time yet.

Something that would pull at people heartstrings as they flipped through the same book in a hundred years’ time. But all the names seemed to be taken. At least all the decent ones.

Slowly, it began to dawn on her. An idea that she couldn’t quite accept, but also couldn’t quite reject. Eventually, it was sitting at the top of her list, well above the second and third options. She closed the books she’d spread out around her, and decided to allow herself to choose it.

 

***

 

Lena found Lance, Kara, and Alex all together on the training green, watching Diana teach Maggie the nuances of swordplay. For someone with almost no experience, she was quite good.

“Lena,” Kara beamed, bouncing up to her. “How’d you go? Any luck?”

“Yes, actually. I think I’ve decided,” she smiled nervously, suddenly very self-conscious of her decision. She hoped they would like it. She especially hoped Kara would like it.

They turned to find Maggie bent over double and panting, Diana handing her a cloth and cup of water. She hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“Lena,” her mother smiled. “Any luck?”

“Yes, thankfully.”

“May we know?” Lance enquired, his curiosity bubbling over.

Alex looked at her curiously. Just like someone sizing up a hazard in her little sister. Her being in a wheelchair did not make it any less intimidating.

Lena swallowed her fears and turned to the others.

“I was thinking,” Lena smiled slightly. “I was thinking Zehdh.”

“Zehdh?” Diana’s brow creased slightly. “I do not recognise the language, or the meaning.”

“It’s Kryptonian,” Kara breathed, completely taken aback. She couldn’t quite believe it.

“It is. It’s one of Girod, the eleven Kryptonian values of life. It means belonging, specifically, belonging in home. Or, to family.”

“Zehdh,” Diana smiled. “It’s beautiful. Tomorrow you may tell Phillipus, and she will etch into the stars.”

Kara felt her eyes sparkling with tears, and she felt a few of escape down her cheeks.

“You really…?”

“Yes,” Lena smiled. “It’s fitting, I think. Now that I have belonging. And… maybe you do, to?”

Kara took Lena’s hand and, right there and then, pulled her into a gentle kiss.

And Lena let herself fall.

When they broke for air, Lena opened her eyes and found the others had disappeared, and she smiled at the silent kindness of her family.

Kara touched her cheek gently.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Zehdh. This was her belonging.

 

 

***

 

Diana and Lena hiked together to the very peak of Mount Olympus, where once the seat of all the great and ancient power in the world had been, and where now, only Diana visited. The peak itself was a stone plateau, with twelve great marble columns standing in a ring around the Throne of Zeus. Her throne. The sky was open above, and a great thunderstorm began to brew as she stepped toward the centre.

When they entered the ring, the torches that hung on the brackets of each column ignited.

She stepped up to the throne, but did not sit. Instead, she turned to her daughter and instructed her to free her hands and kneel on the ground.

It was a simple ritual, but Diana felt it only fitting to honour her daughter in a way she had never received. There’s no one to declare you a god when you have killed the only other of your kind.

Diana stood for a moment, feeling the fresh wind and the surging power that lay behind the curtain of the storm. She reached up and drew a lightning bolt from the clouds above, wrapping it around her gauntlets and feeling it in her bones.

She let much of the power bleed down into the mountain, but with the final spark, she took Lena’s hands, and let the energy seep into the roots of her daughter’s being. She awakened the last of what lay dormant, and imparted onto her the gift of flight, filling her body with power and clarity.

As the electricity drained from her gauntlets, Diana spoke gently, filling the air with the soft tune of her voice.

“Daughter mine, I name you Lena Aella, goddess of compassion and virtue, patron of the winds, the air, and the light of the moon.”

 

 

 

 

 

**_Six Months Later_ **

 

“You are both welcome whenever you please,” Hippolyta told Maggie and Alex, and she had to admit, she had grown extremely fond of both of them. “A friendship with Themyscira will survive beyond than your living days.”

“And Lena,” Hippolyta turned and smiled at her granddaughter. “I have a gift for you.”

The Queen took a wrapped bundle from Menalippe and drew back the cloth, revealing a pair of steel gauntlets edged with gold.

 “Forged from the metal of your mothers shield. Worn by all Amazons as reminder of our fight and freedom. Use them well.”

Lena couldn’t help but gape at them. They were exquisitely beautiful, and just like the pair Diana wore. Hippolyta lay the bundle in her hands.

“And this, from your father and I,” Diana added, and from seemingly nowhere, she produced a crown of gold and steel and placed it in Lena’s hand. It was just like her own, only not so many layers and a band of steel set with a star of gold rather than all worn bronze. “It was once a part of your father’s battle helm, and now it is yours to wear with pride. A crown for a Princess of Themyscira.”

Lena looked down, her hands shaking slightly. She opened her mouth to say thank you, but found no words waiting.

“You need not say anything. It is yours, if you want it.”

“Yes. Yes, I do,” Lena whispered.

“Then it is yours. Take the mantle, and all that it demands.”

And with that, they gave their farewells.

Hippolyta lay a hand on Lance’s cheek and smiled. “I will miss you, my son.”

“And I you, mother.”

“And my daughter,” Hippolyta kissed Diana’s forehead gently. “Return soon.”

“We will.”

With tears and heavy hearts, the six boarded the crystalline jet and in moments it was in the air, sailing off into the blue sky, blending itself into the cloud cover and disappearing from sight.

 

***

 

“Alex Danvers, I would like you to meet my friend, Victor Stone. Vic to his friends. Cyborg to the world.”

“Hey,” Vic smiled to Alex. “Diana and I have had a talk about her request. I need to know you’re sure. This is not small.”

“I’m sure,” Alex nodded. She’d thought long and hard since Diana had first made the suggestion. And she was absolutely sure.

“Okay. If you’re ready, lay down on the table and we’ll begin as soon as everything is in order.”

“Thank you,” Alex added. “This will mean a lot to me.”

“Anything for Diana,” Vic nodded, and the others stepped out of the operating theatre and into the prep booth leaving Alex with her wife and Kara.

Together they helped her out of the wheelchair and onto the operating table, Maggie gently removing the sling and laying her arm down gently.

“You sure about this, babe?” Maggie asked one last time, just to be certain. “You know I’ll love you no matter what, right?”

“Yeah,” Alex smiled. “But this one… this is for me.”

“I love you,” Maggie said gently, and Alex pulled her down into a kiss, murmuring against her lips, “I love you too.”

In the booth, Vic turned to Diana, expression serious.

“Diana, are you sure about this? We’re not just handing her a gun. We’re giving her a key to the armoury. I trust you, but can we trust her?”

“Yes, by my honour. I have watched her for a long while now. She is worthy of your burden.”

“Okay,” Vic nodded. “Let’s do this.”

 

***

 

Alex flexed her new cybernetic hand, lifting the forty pound weight up and lowering it down again with the ease of a feather.

“Wow,” Maggie breathed.

“It’s so light,” Alex marvelled, laying the weight back on the table and turning to Vic.

“Your fibula was shattered beyond repair, so we’ve replaced your right leg, everything below the knee. It’ll be a lot stronger than your biological leg, so it will take some time to get used to. You’re cybernetic arm is also, as you can see, a lot stronger, and it has a series of adaptive features that allow it to function above the ordinary biological arm. If you follow the exercises I gave you, you’ll be just fine in no time.”

“Thank you,” Alex breathed. “Thank you so much. My work means so much to me. I don’t know what…”

Vic raised his hand. “No. I understand. Besides, don’t thank me. Thank Diana.”

“Oh, I will be,” Alex laughed, still exploring the shining metal of her new limbs.

“Diana tells me you’ve got a line of communication to her, so if you’ve got any troubles, drop me a note and we’ll figure it out together.”

 

***

 

“In National City news and continuing coverage of the embattled Luthor Family, the CEO of L Corp, Lena Prince, formerly known as Lena Luthor, has returned to National City today after more than seven months absent. There was some speculation it was related to the trial of adoptive mother Lillian Luthor earlier this month. After the conviction of Mrs Luthor on almost a hundred terror related charges, including three counts of murder, Lena Prince has inherited the entire Luthor Family fortune and vast business empire.

Ms Prince marked her return to National City with the renaming and reopening of the Prince Foundation Children’s Hospital, formerly known as the Luthor Family Children’s Hospital, and the announcement of L Corp’s acquisition of A.N.T.I.O.P.E., the medical research institute formerly funded by the Federal Government.

When asked about the change of name, Ms Prince told reporters she had made contact with her birth family, whose surname is Prince.

Is the CEO of L Corp finally turning a new leaf and leaving the Luthor legacy behind?

In other local news, Supergirl was spotted downtown today rescuing a trapped family after a car accident near Grant Park. It’s the first time National City’s hero has been seen since the disbanding of Lillian Luthor’s terrorist organisation Cadmus.

It appears Supergirl was assisted by a new, as of yet unnamed hero. Reports say she was dressed  similarly to the Wonder Woman who was seen collaborating with Supergirl earlier this year, but sources confirm it is not the same woman. Some have speculated she’s another Kryptonian Supergirl met off-world during her recent absence. Whether or not that is the case, National City welcomes Supergirl home.”

 

***

 

The Invisible Jet landed on the helipad atop Lena’s penthouse, and Lance and Diana were both unwilling to admit that this was goodbye for now.

There life on Earth 38 had been dismantled, and it was time to go home. Just until next week, but it still gave them a heavy hearts to say goodbye.

“We’ll see you next week? Anytime that you need us, call. Anytime,” Lance urged. “We’re always here for you.”

“I will,” Lena nodded, hugging her father tightly for a long, precious moment.

When she let go he stepped back, and Diana wrapped her arms around her daughter warmly, breathing her in, remembering this moment in minute detail.

As she released her, Diana took Lena’s face in her hands, and kissed her forehead gently.

Finally, in that moment, she understood something of what her mother had felt all those years ago.

“Be careful, Lena. They do not deserve you.”


End file.
